Video Transcript:
So how do you get a lien released on a real estate title? This is Dave at TitleSearch.com, Certified Title Abstractors. A lien release is an important part of clearing an encumbrance on a property title. If a property has a lien on it, what that means is a document has been filed in the official records of that title showing there's a claim against that property. There's a lien, there's a judgment, there's a mortgage; some type of claim against that property. Even if that lien is paid off, even if the debtor pays the amount owed under that lien or mortgage, the lien still remains on the property until the creditor files another piece of paper saying it's off the title. For example, if I have an account at a bank with a mortgage and my mortgage balance is 100,000 dollars and I decide to walk in and pay that mortgage off in my balance with that bank will be zero. If I look up on my account or look up in their system, it's going to be zero. The title to that property does not know that that account is zero until the bank signs a document clearing it off the title. So having that lien release filed in the lien records is as important, if not more important, than the clearance of the amount in the bank's records. So having that lien release is important. Also, if you're going to look at a lien release in the property records, make sure that the release itself has the number of the book and page that corresponds correctly to the original lien. Because if it references another document or another mortgage, it's not going to clear the one that you're looking at. If you have questions about running a title search on real estate, you can reach us at our website at title search dot com.