How do you find out if property has liens?
Hi all, We are looking into foreclosure properties and are curious as to how we find out if it has any liens against it – any ideas? We prefer to find this out prior to wasting time and money on an inspection if the amount of the liens is greater than the value of the…
Hi all,
We are looking into foreclosure properties and are curious as to how we find out if it has any liens against it – any ideas? We prefer to find this out prior to wasting time and money on an inspection if the amount of the liens is greater than the value of the home. Does anyone know where I would go and how I get these reports? 311 was useless, they kept sending me to wrong place.
We did have title insurance and it lasts 6 months after closing. It was later after 6 months that we discovered some fines with the DOB. Title insurance is NOT the answer to all one’s fears.
The property might have liens which led to the foreclosure.
Sometimes the owners come up miraculously with money at the last minute. and clear it all up and keep the property
Sometimes it might take a year to clear up a lis pendens.
Be super diligent before you jump in.
Records are not always accurate.
Double and triple check the situation.
It is tricky.
OP here – I looked on ACRIS and I could not find info on liens but it was somewhat difficult to figure out if I was looking in the right place.
Any other suggestions? I definately want to figure this out before we get stuck in a contract and before I spend $1000 on inspections and whatever else for an attorney.
ACRIS shows mortgages, but I don’t think it shows liens such as tax, ECB, mechanic’s etc.
oh please, title insurance doesn’t save you from anything. they only offer you to half-comfort of knowing that if a lien is found later you can spend months filing papers to have the title insurance take responsibility for it. not to mention title insurance only becomes relevant once you’ve purchased the place. clearly this person is asking how to find this information before that point.
There is something called title insurance which solves that problem.
http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/scripts/docsearch.dll/index
ACRIS in NYC Dept of Finance web site
search by lot and block
When you buy, the title company is supposed to do the search for liens (which the seller has to pay for, not you) but then again, our title company didn’t find the blatantly obvious (if you look on the city’s website for DOB fines) fines on our house. I will never count on a title company to do their job ever again. Nor an inspector. Why do these people call themselves professionals?
Anyway, I don’t know about liens from loans or non-city things. But there is a website someone should be able to give you here, where you can look up DOB violations and fines.