The Liens and Judgement Check is most commonly used as part of determining one’s credit worthiness or financial history. A lien is a legal claim of one person upon the property of another person to secure the payment of a debt. One of the most common liens found when researching public records is that of the Tax Lien. A tax lien is a lien filed against a debtor (individual or company) for unpaid taxes. Tax liens can come from all levels of government including Federal Tax Liens, State Tax Liens, County Tax Liens and even City Tax Liens (local level tax liens may have slightly different names). Depending on the state, tax liens can be filed at the state and/or local recording offices.
A Mechanic Lien is a lien filed by a contractor (or related vendor) when payment has not been made for the services provided by that contractor on an improved piece of real property. The lien seeks to guarantee payment in the future by preventing the homeowner from obtaining a full title or selling the property before paying for the contracted services. When a mechanic’s lien can be filed varies based on state and/or local laws, but is typically after the contractor’s work has been completed.
In many states when a judgment has been rendered in a court action, that judgment can be filed with a local or state recording office to create a lien. Many jurisdictions refer to this lien as a Judgment Lien or an Abstract of Judgment Lien. These liens act as a public notification of the judgment and can prevent the debtor from entering into various corporate or real estate transactions until the judgment has been satisfied. The judgment itself is also a matter of public record and can be searched on the court record systems where the case was processed.