Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Which states, other than Oregon, grant a mechanic's lien super-priority status over previously recorded first-position mortgage lien?
Which states, other than Oregon, grant a mechanic's lien super-priority status over previously recorded first-position mortgage lien?
That's a great question. As a general matter - the vast majority of states follow the "first to file" (or "first in line") rule. This means that, regardless of the type of filing (at least for the most part) - whichever document is filed first will have priority. Of course, mechanics liens throw a wrench in the process, because in most states they "relate back" to the time when work begins. Meaning, the time for a mechanics lien recording, for priority purposes, is typically counted as the first day that work begins on the project. For encumbrances that are filed during the project, such as with a construction loan, this creates headaches. To counteract that effect, partial lien waivers might be utilized to waive lien rights obtained prior to a construction loan. Anyway, regarding "super priority" - relatively few states provide mechanics lien priority that is superior to an encumbrance that was filed prior to the outset of work. As you'd mentioned, Oregon does so - but only conditionally. A few other states operate similarly. While they may also have conditions and exceptions to when a lien might be granted priority over a previously-filed encumbrance, here are a few states that should sound the most alarms: Oregon, New Hampshire, Montana, Maine, Arkansas, and Alaska. Other states that should also be noted with potential priority issues are: Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. These states do not necessarily have super priority, but there are situations in these states which can elevate the priority of a mechanics lien. Finally, regarding lien priority, zlien has a tool to help keep tabs on the lien priority of different states. Check out this link to take a look at the lien priority in Florida. At the top-left of the page, there's a dropdown for navigating this resource for other states.
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