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How do I confirm a home was sold and my lien was not paid

I am a contractor, we filed a lien on a home once we realized he was not going to pay us. I suspect the home sold in Dec of 2019. We were never contacted by any Title Agency in regard to our lien. How do I go about confirming this property was sold and whether or not the buyer was even informed of our lien? I have tried to contact our local Title Agency, since we were not a party to a transaction, if there even was one, no information can be released. Not even confirmation there was a transaction.

1 reply

Mar 13, 2020

To confirm whether or not a property has been sold, your best bet is probably to head to the county recorder's office to search the record. Or, if there's a way to access those records online - like through the assessor's website - that could be an easier path. While the assessor's site will be more convenient, keep in mind that the physical recorder's office will almost always have the most up to date ownership information. And, when a property has recently changed hands, it's possible online tools might not be upt to date. Once you have the updated owner, it should be easy to contact them to make sure if they were properly notified of the lien claim (that is, if the property has actually changed hands). This article should also be helpful for identifying who the owner is: How to Find the Property Owner on a Construction Project. Additionally, this resource should be helpful: The 4 Steps to Take After Filing a Mechanics Lien. As a final note - keep in mind that even if the property did change hands while an active mechanics lien is in place, that won't invalidate the lien filing. Rather, as long as the lien was properly filed and notice of that filing was given to the owner at the time, the lien would stay with the property throughout the transfer.

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