Contractor placed lien on my sister's house. She's never done business with him.

[justme68154]

Nebraska, here. Hopefully I have the right category.

My sister just closed on a house a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, the previous owner hired a contractor to fix hail damage while he still lived here, and did not pay the contractor. The previous owner moved out of state as soon as he sold the house. The contractor tried collecting from my sister, who refused because she had no agreements with him and would not enter one as his work was shoddy. He just placed a lien on her new house.

What are her options here?

 

[AdjunctFL]

Nebraska, here. Hopefully I have the right category.

My sister just closed on a house a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, the previous owner hired a contractor to fix hail damage while he still lived here, and did not pay the contractor. The previous owner moved out of state as soon as he sold the house. The contractor tried collecting from my sister, who refused because she had no agreements with him and would not enter one as his work was shoddy. He just placed a lien on her new house.

What are her options here?

Did your sister have title insurance on the home?

 

[justme68154]

Did your sister have title insurance on the home?

Yes, but she's concerned about deductibles and having to pay more money.

 

[AdjunctFL]

Yes, but she's concerned about deductibles and having to pay more money.

It sounds like you're referring to Homeowner's insurance. I asked about Title Insurance, that should have picked up a recorded lien.

 

[justme68154]

It sounds like you're referring to Homeowner's insurance. I asked about Title Insurance, that should have picked up a recorded lien.

There was no lien until after she bought the house. The contractor just placed it. She closed on the place I think about 3 weeks ago, maybe 4, and after the contractor found out that the last owner moved out of town, he placed a lien which just went into effect a day or two ago.

 

[Dave1952]

She'll need to contest the lien or pay it off. Many lawyers give a free initial consult. She needs to get some guesstimates of the cost of contesting the lien and compare the estimates with the cost of paying off the lien.

 

[justme68154]

She'll need to contest the lien or pay it off. Many lawyers give a free initial consult. She needs to get some guesstimates of the cost of contesting the lien and compare the estimates with the cost of paying off the lien.

So... someone can place a lien on someone's property for the previous owner's debt - AFTER the property has been sold, and the new owner ends up financially responsible for either paying someone else's debt or legal fees? I'm assuming if that is the case, she'll need to look into suing to recover her legal fees.

 

[LdiJ]

So... someone can place a lien on someone's property for the previous owner's debt - AFTER the property has been sold, and the new owner ends up financially responsible for either paying someone else's debt or legal fees? I'm assuming if that is the case, she'll need to look into suing to recover her legal fees.

Someone can, but in the end they should not get away with it. The problem is that it will take an attorney to resolve the problem and it may not be possible to collect attorney fees from the contractor who placed the improper lien. Hence why comparing the cost of fighting the lien vs paying it off, might be in order.