[PipeGuy]

A guy in a condo stiffs you to the tune of 8K. He owns the condo but leases the grounds. You put a lien on the condo. The condo is condemned due to storm damage and the guy is going to collect ins. for his loss.
Will the ins. company do a title search prior to disbursing the funds to the deadbeat?

My experience is - only if they will assume title to the property as a result of the payout. Otherwise, they have no obligation in regards to any incumberances that might exist.

It has been 3 yrs. and you have recovered from the loss, should you just walk

I would take the time to confirm that the lien is still in place and remind the condo owner of same.

This scenario demonstrates Mike's point about the importance of being familiar with the statutes for perfecting a lien (sorry, different thread). For example, in my state if the value of the improvement or repair performed ($8,000) is less than 15% of the value of the structure (the condo) then the lien can not be perfected. If I had filed the lien and the condo was worth more than $53,333 then I'd be SOL when I tried to collect.