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Can a mechanics lien become invalid, if a property dosent sell at sheriff sale?

PennsylvaniaLien ForeclosureLien Priority

Filed a lien on a property. It did not sale at sheriff sale. Now, the mortgage holder, is telling me that the lien will not be paid, and dosent exist anymore? Help please?

1 reply

Feb 22, 2019
I'm sorry to hear you had to file a mechanics lien - it's frustrating to have to chase down payments that you've already rightfully earned. When a mechanics lien is foreclosed, that forces the sale of the property through a sheriffs sale. Once sold, the proceeds from that sale will be applied to the lien holders (typically, the mortgage will have priority and be paid first, then any leftover funds are paid to additional lien holders). However, when a property is put up for sale but goes unsold, it's less clear what should happen. If the property went unsold at the sheriff's sale, it might depend on who holds title to the property currently when determining what liens remain on the property. If the property was transferred to another party, and payment wasn't enough to satisfy the first lien (probably the mortgage) on the property, then it's possible that a mechanics lien claim could be removed from the property without payment actually being made on the underlying debt. However, if the property was not transferred to some other party, it's possible that the lien remains on the property on which an attempted sale was made. Ultimately, to receive absolute clarity, it would be helpful to seek out the help of a title attorney and to provide them all relevant documentation and communications regarding the claim and the attempted sheriff's sale. They'll be able to review everything and determine the status of the claim as well as provide advice on how best to proceed.
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