Kathleen S. Turner, SRES®, SFR® - COMPLETE GUIDE TO SELLING YOUR HOME FOR MORE

foreclosure of property to pay off a lien. If a property is mortgaged, the creditor-lienholder, on enforcing foreclosure, must continue mortgage repayment. Creditors prefer to wait until the property is sold.

IF A LIEN IS FILED ON YOUR PROPERTY

In the event a seller first discovers a lien filed on owned property when preparing to sell the home, the first step is to determine if the lien genuinely belongs to him. Lien holds are searched by owner name. Sometimes multiple matches will return from a search. Relatives who share similar names or those with unusually common names (e.g., Smith or Jones) might find themselves asked about liens they didn’t incur. In this case, your attorney and title company will determine what proof is needed to clear the issue. If, however, you’re the seller and the lien is appropriately on your property, work to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Contact the lienholder and arrange how to pay it off. Often, the repayment will come out of the proceeds of the sale of the house. For particularly complicated liens, you should seek legal counsel. There are various actions you can take if a lien is placed on your property, based on how much you owe and the specifications of local laws. If there’s a federal tax lien on your home, you must satisfy the lien before you can sell or refinance your home. There are several options to satisfy the tax lien. Typically, if you have accrued equity in your property, the tax lien is paid (partially or fully) out of the sales proceeds from closing. According to the IRS, if the home is being sold for less than the lien amount, the taxpayer can request the IRS to discharge the

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