Judgment Lien
Wondering what a Judgment Lien is?
Well, a Lien can be consensual or non-consensual, right? Meaning it can be forced or agreed upon by way of a bilateral contract. When we say “forced” is by way of a lawsuit that imposes a lien: a judgment lien.
Wondering how to stop a lien on your property? Well, once a court assigns a judgment lien, the homeowner can do the following in order to get rid of it:
- Pay off the debt or fix whatever it is that made the judge impose the judgment lien
- Ask the courts (all the way to the supreme court, if possible) to remove the judgment lien
- File for bankruptcy as a last resort measure
But how a judgment lien is created? Who can put a lien on your property? It’s pretty simple. Say you owe money to someone. That someone sues you in court, and the judge allows them to record a lien on your asset as a way to ensure that you pay off the debt.
Judgment liens are typically contingent to the state where the court is located. That is; if you have a dispute on New Jersey, the judge will not be able to apply the judgment lien on a New York property you have. And a pesky feature of judgment liens is that they become attached to properties you acquire later. In fact, even if you don’t have any asset, the lien gets recorded to your name and whenever you buy any form of real estate, the lien – that was there silently sitting, waiting to come alive - becomes live.
The good news: most of them expire after some time (typically 7 to 10 years), but some can be renewed indefinitely.
Real Estate Tips:
Never enter the home buying process without Title Insurance! Your pockets and your well-being will thank you!
Popular Real Estate Terms
A relatively unknown term, laches or the” doctrine of laches,” means failure to assert one’s rights or a claim in a given matter in time. Failing to take action on a ...
The US real estate market is filled with several confusing legal terms. One of those terms is "attorney-at-law." But who exactly are they? And how do they differ from real estate lawyers? ...
Largest form of owner ship giving the owner complete control including the development off an inheritable estate. ...
Construction of commercial property in a manner that enables each lessee or tenant to have access to the main strip or thoroughfare running through the property. For example, this mode of ...
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is not only a commonly used term in the real estate industry, but it is also the largest trade association in the US. With over 1.4 million ...
The definition of obligee is the person to whom a debt or obligation is owed. An obligee is one party of a contract to who the other party, the obligor, is obligated. An obligee is also the ...
The concept of a release can define various meanings in the financial and real estate business. Typically, it establishes a discharge or literal escape from a loan borrower's economic ...
Regarding the definition of the term adjoining, we see a term used most often to describe a particular position that objects, items, or properties have regarding each other. In the case of ...
An activity by a property owner annoys or seriously disturbs other property owners making it discomforting to use their own property. A wide range of activities can be classified as ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.