What a lien on a house actually is in Florida, the six kinds you will meet, how to find one on any address, and how it gets cleared at closing.
Mortgage lien. Voluntary, recorded when you borrow. Every financed home has one; it is paid from the sale proceeds at closing and the lender records a satisfaction.
Property-tax lien. Unpaid property taxes become a lien on January 1 of the tax year and take priority over almost everything else. Florida counties sell tax certificates on delinquent parcels under chapter 197, Florida Statutes; after two years the certificate holder can apply for a tax deed.
HOA and condominium liens. Associations may record a claim of lien for unpaid assessments (section 720.3085 for homeowners' associations, section 718.116 for condominiums) and can foreclose it. These liens survive most sales unless the estoppel amount is paid at closing.
Construction (mechanic's) lien. Chapter 713 lets contractors, subcontractors and suppliers who improved the property lien it for unpaid work, generally within 90 days of their last work. This is why Florida closings on recently renovated homes ask for lien waivers and a final contractor's affidavit.
Judgment lien. A creditor who wins a money judgment can record a certified copy in the county's official records, and it attaches to real property the debtor owns in that county for the life of the judgment lien. Florida's homestead protection (Article X, section 4 of the Florida Constitution) blocks forced sale of a homestead for most judgment liens, but not for taxes, the mortgage, or construction liens on the home itself.
Code-enforcement and municipal liens. Cities and counties record liens for unpaid code-enforcement fines (chapter 162), unpaid utilities, special assessments and demolition or lot-clearing costs. Many of these never appear in a standard title search, which is the whole reason Florida buyers order a separate municipal lien search.
Recorded liens live in the official records of the county where the property sits, indexed by owner name and often by parcel. Every Florida clerk of court publishes a free online official-records search; a mortgage, HOA claim of lien, judgment, construction lien or IRS notice of federal tax lien will show up there under the owner's name.
Unrecorded or municipal items do not: open permits, code violations with accruing fines, and utility balances sit in city and county systems. A municipal lien search pulls those. Property-tax status is on the county tax collector's site by parcel number.
If you are under contract, you do not have to do this yourself. The title agent's commitment lists every lien and requirement that must be satisfied before the owner's policy issues, and the closing statement shows each payoff.
Most liens are simply paid from the seller's proceeds at closing: the title agent obtains written payoff letters, disburses the money, and records satisfactions or releases afterward. The seller sees the deductions on the settlement statement; the buyer takes title free of them.
When the liens exceed what the sale will net, the options are a negotiated payoff or release with the creditor, a short sale with the lender's consent, or bringing money to the table. Judgment and HOA liens can sometimes be negotiated down; tax and mortgage liens almost never are.
Sellers in this position should price and plan early: our guide to selling a house with liens walks through payoff ordering, homestead protection and the paperwork a closing agent will require.
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