Video Transcript:
What is a lien release and why is it important on a real estate title search? This is Dave at TitleSearch.com. A lien release document is a separate recording which cancels out or wipes out a previously recorded lien or encumbrance on that property. If let's say a lien is filed -a tax lien, a mechanics lien, environmental to lien on a property -and later on that lien is cleared where it's paid off or removed from the property. The original document remains in the very same place that it was recorded originally. So if you're looking through that book, you're going to see lien. It's not going to get ripped out. It's not going to get stamped, paid. Nothing's going to happen to that document. Matter of fact, it's illegal for a county recorder to alter or remove any document. It has to stay there. So a separate document is filed whenever that happens. It could be five, six, seven years later in a separate book that corresponds to that original lien that says this lien that's recorded that this book and page is now satisfied. It's released from a claim or a cloud on that title. In order to properly get that title search abstracted correctly, you have to make sure both of those documents are reviewed, that they match up, and that it's a full release. A lien release could be a partial release. It may be a contingent release. You have to read it to make sure it completely wipes out that underlying lien. The same holds true for a mortgage. A mortgage can be released or it could be partially released or reduced in value. Making sure that you don't just look at the release and seeing that it's there is not enough to make sure it's gone from a cloud on title. At the same time, it's also important to make sure it actually matches up. Just because it's the same lender or same lien holder, you want to read through the details of that document to see that it matches that original recording; book and page matches up, legal description matches up, the amount matches up, everything's the same, so you know that it's cleared out. If you do have questions about running a title search on real estate, you can reach us at our website: title search.com.