Question About A Lien??

AHS

I filed a lien on a house that I roofed last year and did not get paid for. I just recieved a letter informing me the house is getting forclosed on. What happens to the lien after forclosure?

Ed the Roofer

The lien should have to be satisfied and paid off prior to title transfer.

Each state is slightly different, but primarily the same. You do not just file a lien and forget about it. You need to follow up with a lawsuit to enforce your lien.

Normally, unless your lien is in the "Perfected" status, you will not have primary consideration. Study up on "Perfecting" your lien and the specific time frames you must adhere to to do so. It is probably too late to fix the status of this current lien, but many mortgage holders will insist the lien gets cleared up prior to granting clear title anyway, so you still may come out okay.

Ed

Vinny

Ditto Ed's reply. At least you have the lien thats a good start but like ed said you need to follow up on those. I think you still stand a good chance of getting paid.

__________________
Roccies Asphalt Paving
The Right Way Driveway Company
If you say you cant, your a loser. If you say you wont, your a quiter. Which one do you want to be?

Geminijoe

I tend to disagree with the two previous reply's. the bank is what is considered a secure lender and you are not. the bank will foreclose and then try to sell it, if they sell it for less then the outstanding balance then thats that, all others are out of luck!

if they sell it for more then their owed (plus all associated and documented fees) then the next secured lender in line takes over and so on. if by the time they get down to non secured and there is anything left then you may be paid (you have to stay on top of it and make sure you be persistant!)

All stats are diff when it comes to lein laws but I belive this secured vrs non secured is the same.

Good luck to you, I hope it works out to you getting paid.

AHS

What can I do now? anything? or is it out of my hands & I just have to cross my fingers

thompsonpw

I would seriously consider consulting an attorney. But, being as the house is in foreclosure, typically they are sold for less than is owed and there is nothing for lien holders to collect. It all depends on the bank that foreclosed. A few, very few, will hold out to sell at a profit, most others will take what they can get to unload it quickly and get out of a bad situation.
Good Luck!!

__________________
Scott Thompson
Thompson's Powerwashing, LLC.
Manchester, CT

thom

A lot really depends on state law.

Here, a foreclosed property is sold on the courthouse steps. Generally the lender that is foreclosing on it will bid the amount they are owed. Assuming they are the high bidder, they get the house for what they bid. They then put the house on the market and they keep what they get.

Because the first mortgage holder has the most secure position you're probably out of luck. Around here, the lein is secured in the order it is filed. Several years ago my lein beat the governments (irs) lein by minutes. Litterally, they were standing behind me in line to file. I won. I ended up with the house, which I bought at auction. I had to pay off the first mortgage (relatively small) because it was a (and the only) prior lein.

KentWhitten

If you want your money, you need a lawyer and fast before the primary lien holder (more than likely the bank) forecloses. After that, you're SOOL.

In WA state, I found out quickly how ineffective placing a lien on something had. You can't just sit on it. There's a time period before it expires (WA state was 7 months at the time) you have to file it in a certain way, you have to make out the correct type too.

And the bank usually tells the builder/homeowner to get lien insurance to cover anyone like you wanting their money so they can sell their house and get their money. Pennies on the dollar, then you pretty much are screwed without a lawyer.

__________________
If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place ~Lao Tzu

Custom Cabinetry - Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Kennebunkport, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Ogunquit, Maine

Salmon Falls Cabinetry

GregS

What exactly does the insurance do then? Pays out the lien on behalf of the title holder?

Dale S.

Our story re: liens. We had a lien and a court judgement for some granite countertops we installed in a subdivision. Long story short, it didn't matter. The bank foreclosed, the contractor left town, we got nothing. The houses are now on the market for what the bank has into them and no one can find the contractor or his company. It was not just us, but a lot of subs lost a lot more than we did. To us, it was a $4K lesson, to the plumbing contractor the lesson cost somewhere like $70K!

Now we insist on a 50% deposit and watch the situations a LOT closer...I guess it is just a cost of doing business and a risk we take....

Liens? To me they are just a scare tactic to try to get money pried loose in some situations, but the rules in Oregon are so specific and the penalty if you miss one date or do something just a little wrong is that you are out of luck. Hiring a lawyer? For our size of jobs, we would loose it all in lawyers fees. Even if we could recover our original amount, trying to add on lawyer fees is even more out of reach...

dale

Ed the Roofer

It is not technically "Insurance", but more appropriately called a "Bond". The bonding fee is typically 1 1/2 time the amount of the lien, and if they have to pay out, they collect from the party who placed the bond over the lien.

This tactic just legally delays the party claiming the lien the opportunity to collect as quickly as possible and now places more hurdles in the way.

Ed