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Removing a expired Mechanics Lien

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A mechanics Lien was place on our New Construction home (Kittitas County-Cle Elum, WA) it has been 9 month since filing No action has been taken How do we remove this lien from the property?

1 reply

May 23, 2018
That's a good question. On one hand, after a Washington mechanics lien has expired, it will no longer "bind" the property. Under RCW § 60.04.141, "No lien created by this chapter binds the property subject to the lien for a longer period than eight calendar months after the claim of lien has been recorded unless an action is filed by the lien claimant within that time..." Unfortunately, the statute doesn't state that the lien will be discharged or dissolved as a result. This may or may not be problematic moving forward - when a lien is clearly expired and unenforceable, those looking at the title may accept that a powerless lien is attached to property. On the other hand, anytime there's a cloud on the title, it could make a lender or title company nervous - even where the lien is harmless. One option might be to attempt to have the lien claimant release the filed lien. Naturally, a claimant might not be willing to do so. If that's the case, another option is to petition to have the expired lien released from the property. Where a lien is obviously expired, this may not be all that challenging - but it would very likely require an attorney since legal action would need to be taken. But again, if the lien has clearly expired, it would likely not be a particularly arduous process.
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