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How does a lien appear on a title search for a property in New York State?

We placed a lien on customer property however they paid us in full and we processed a release of claim. The customer is wondering will this lien/cancellation appear on title search since they are using construction loans to finance the project and will this cause a problem for them in the future even though the lien has been satisfied. Thank you.

1 reply

Dec 19, 2019

When a mechanics lien is released, generally, the lien claim itself isn't actually removed from the property title. Instead, what happens is the release is filed in the record, along with the lien claim, and that release being filed shows that the mechanics lien is essentially dormant. So, for companies who very commonly interact with property records, they should be able to identify when a lien filing is released in whole, and if they're really scrutinizing the situation, it should be obvious that the released lien no longer poses a threat. Unfortunately, though, title companies or lenders can be overly cautious at times, or they might be frightened by the fact that a lien is there - even though the debt has clearly been released. Of course, the longer that time passes, the more clear it should be that the lien poses no threat. So, in short: A released lien shouldn't cause property title issues after the lien's satisfaction, and a party familiar with property titles shouldn't have trouble sorting out what's what. But, unfortunately, it's not that uncommon for a title company or mortgage company to be scared, at least initially, by a filed claim. For claimants who want to work with the owner to reduce the impact of the satisfied lien, it could be helpful to provide an owner (or to have them provide a letter) which explains the situation and that the lien has been fully released.

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