House on Lien and Real Estate?

Question

Hey,

They just contacted me about a repo from 04 and said they would put my house on a lien. I can't give the 10k they are asking for, but I also have a real estate in another state. Can they go after that too? I have an attorney working on my case (Workers Comp) and she filed lawsuit almost a year ago and still, no advance. What does the Lien consist off, and what are my options in this lien?

Also, should I use the real estate I have to get a loan from the bank?

Many Thanks!

Answer 1

When a lender says it will put a lien on your real prperty, that usually means they are going to have to file a lawsuit and get a judgment. Once they get the judgment, it can be recorded in the county where you own real peoperty. Then it becomes a "judgment lien" on the property. Judgment liens can be collected by having someone (usually the sheriff, varies by local law) conduct a sale of the property.

The bad news for a lender is that such a sale can get them title the property (and you off the title), but that title will be subject to the claims of other creditors (like your mortgage lender) who had recorded liens on the real estate prior to the recording of the judgment. The earlier liens have priority over the later liens and usually can't lose their priority by the later lienholder's sale. This is a "lien priority" matter.

That means the lender would have to pay the other liens in order to keep THEM from foreclosing and leaving him with, possibly, nothing. That is not a good deal, so often the new lienholder just waits until you try to sell or refinance the property, at which time you have to pay them off in order to do either of those things.

Oh yes, a successful new lien can trigger a default on some loans, so one foreclosure filing can cascade things.

As for a property in another state, they would probably have to (1) find out about the property (a thing called a debtor's examination will reveal that), (2) find a way to get the judgment recognized in the other state (every state has procedures for this) and (3) record the other state's judgment. Then there is the whole lien priority thing again.

Answer 2

What they are going to do is get a civil judgment against you for monies owed to them, and then attach whatever property of yours they can in order to effect repayment. They are putting a lien on your property, and they can do it wherever you have property in the US.