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Old 08-20-2010, 09:05 PM
 
323 posts, read 507,330 times
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My house went under contract a few weeks ago and everything has been checking out perfectly (home inspection, appraisal, pest inspection, etc.) aiming for an end of the month closing. I get an e-mail from the realtor today saying that the settlement company found a lien from the HOA on the owner previous to me! (Unpaid dues?)

How did my own title company miss this lien when I purchased this property? I have title insurance obviously - so do these situations generally resolve themselves or do I need to be concerned about any other gotchas?
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Old 08-20-2010, 09:54 PM
 
Location: DFW
40,932 posts, read 48,909,839 times
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That lien should have been paid and removed when you bought the house. Somebody missed something and it may have some way all been a timing issue.

HOA may not have reported any past due and was in the process of filing the lien at the same time you were closing ???? The new title company should be able to go back on the old title company to clear up the lien.

Any other gotchas ? Probably not unless you're talking about Appraisal problems, financing restrictions, the buyer buying a new boat and screwing up his credit, etc. You have been paying your income taxes, right ? Good, no IRS tax liens that take 90 days to clear.

There is always a huge sigh of relief when the documents are signed and the loan is funded.
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Old 08-20-2010, 11:31 PM
 
Location: Kansas City North
6,787 posts, read 11,429,264 times
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Could it be possible that the dues did get paid up and someone never removed the lien? What does the HOA say about the status of your account?
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Old 08-21-2010, 07:12 PM
 
323 posts, read 507,330 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rakin View Post
That lien should have been paid and removed when you bought the house. Somebody missed something and it may have some way all been a timing issue.

HOA may not have reported any past due and was in the process of filing the lien at the same time you were closing ???? The new title company should be able to go back on the old title company to clear up the lien.

Any other gotchas ? Probably not unless you're talking about Appraisal problems, financing restrictions, the buyer buying a new boat and screwing up his credit, etc. You have been paying your income taxes, right ? Good, no IRS tax liens that take 90 days to clear.

There is always a huge sigh of relief when the documents are signed and the loan is funded.
I have no concerns on my part as far as taxes-paid, HOA dues, etc. I just don't know how this issue resolves itself - will I have to fight the title insurance company to pay out or is it usually pretty automatic? Does this add significant time to closing? The other complication here is that the title company that originally did my settlement is out of business, but the title insurance company is still around.
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Old 08-21-2010, 08:33 PM
Status: "Made the Retirement Run in under 12 parsecs!!!" (set 5 days ago)
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,081 posts, read 76,642,306 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by guyincognito View Post
I have no concerns on my part as far as taxes-paid, HOA dues, etc. I just don't know how this issue resolves itself - will I have to fight the title insurance company to pay out or is it usually pretty automatic? Does this add significant time to closing? The other complication here is that the title company that originally did my settlement is out of business, but the title insurance company is still around.
Time for legal counsel, I think.

How much is the lien?
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Old 08-22-2010, 01:58 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
2,150 posts, read 5,145,749 times
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First step is to grab the copy of your HUD-1 Settlement statement from when you purchased the home to see if it was paid at that time.

Next contact the Title Company that you used when you purchased the home. Of course they will try to make it look like they did nothing wrong, but be persistent. They may pay the claim. Finally try the Title Insurance Co.

Not sure what part of the country you are in, but if you have an attorney already have them handle it. If no attorney and you cannot get it resolved quickly through the Title Co. you may need to get an attorney.
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Old 08-29-2010, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Palm Coast, Fl
2,249 posts, read 8,876,406 times
Reputation: 1009
The first thing I would do is call the HOA. The title insurance company when you purchased the home should have and probably did an Estoppel letter to the HOA who then had to advise what was owing. It's quite possible the lien was never removed. The HOA would be able to advise what is going on. If they filed it AFTER you closed you would have been notified via certified or registered mail.
If there had been no estoppel letter sent by your title company, they are at fault and have to pay up.
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Old 08-29-2010, 04:42 PM
 
6,337 posts, read 11,509,381 times
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Look on the bright side - you have a buyer who wants to buy your house! I think the rest of it can be worked out.
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Old 08-31-2010, 06:19 PM
 
323 posts, read 507,330 times
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Well, it all worked out, but no thanks to the HOA. After getting stonewalled by the HOA at every turn I finally got ahold of their attorneys and talked directly to them. They were able to verify that there was a lien placed back in 2001 but that it had been paid up and should have been removed. They provided a letter saying the lien was in the process of being removed. No harm, no foul and I closed on the sale today. Whew!
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Old 09-01-2010, 09:56 AM
 
Location: NW. MO.
1,817 posts, read 6,839,876 times
Reputation: 1376
You have title insurance, you go to the title company and they should take care of it if they missed it.

Oh just read your last post, glad to hear it! I had a problem with a title company missing liens when I purchased and they happened to be found during the sale though. Not fun to take care of. Glad everything worked out for you.

Last edited by misplaced1; 09-01-2010 at 09:57 AM.. Reason: update
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