Prior to purchasing property, an investor will want to perform a lien records search. When you search liens against a property, you’re looking at any money owed to collectors that must be paid off in order for the property to be sold.

Besides a property lien search, you may want to perform searches to look into any liens against a business or individual. This may include looking for federal tax lien records, mechanical liens, vehicle liens and more.

1. Learn the lien records search basics. Determine if it’s a lien public record, then you can legally access it.

2. Find providers of public lien records. Different companies have software available that you can use to search for business liens, home liens and more.

3. Perform lien searches. If you’re in a business that needs to regularly search for liens, then you may want to sign up for a subscription plan.

Action Steps
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Research information on public lien records

Before you start to look for liens, you should learn lien records search basics. Research how lien records are generated and what type of businesses or entities are required to submit this information. As a rule of thumb, a company should look at compliancy requirements and enforcement used to ensure accuracy of records.

I recommend: The Internal Revenue Service provides information on their automated lien system and how the data is collected as well as enforcement used to gather this information. Rogue Investor has tax lien information by state in order to find the data you need quickly.

Search by state for lien records

Each state has a website that you can use to search for liens and judgments made against a person or business. Use these public records to your advantage when looking into a business or property purchase. However, most records searches do provide a disclosure agreement that you must abide by.

I recommend: The Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority website has an easy to use tool that the public can use to search for liens on a person or property. Provide as much information as possible on the Idaho Secretary of State site to receive a comprehensive list of liens.

Find low cost lien records search tools

Instead of getting paid software, you can look through lien records at very little cost to your company. You can choose to go to the public records department of your county or you can look for websites that provides this information at a nominal fee to you.

I recommend: On KnowX.com, you can search for several different public lien records. Property and tax liens are available through the site. You can search by person’s name, filing number and location. Experian has released a software program that can search for county, state and federal tax lien records.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When looking into purchasing foreclosed properties, investors typically perform a property lien search. This can give them an idea of the debts that must be paid prior to title transference.

When you are looking into buying a new piece or property or a business, you should always do a business lien search, a property lien search and a federal tax lien search to make sure the asset you are acquiring is not encumbered by debt.

Creditors use liens as a legal claim to a debtor’s property as security or payment for an unpaid debt. When it comes to finding information about a lien, public record laws make lien records subject to inspection by the public. Each state has its own laws governing various types of liens, including home liens and business liens. Liens are recorded with the county clerk at the local level where the property or business is located. Fortunately, many county clerks allow you to view and download lien records online, in some cases for free. You can also find federal tax lien records for free through the court clerks.

To conduct lien public record searches or a property lien search you will need the following:

1. The correct property address.
   
2. Corporation name and names of its corporate officers.
3. Property folio numbers.

Action Steps
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Track down the county clerk where the property or business lien records are located

In order to do a lien records search, you first have to know the county where the lien is recorded.

I recommend: One easy way to find lien records is to subscribe to Westlaw.com, an online service that has a database that allows you to search for liens and civil judgments against individuals and businesses in 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam.

Be wary of fee-based lien search websites

There are many web-sites that offer access to public lien records, but only a few provide reliable lien searches.

I recommend: Intellus has an online database that charges users a reasonable fee for solid and accurate lien searches.

Use credit reporting agencies to find lien records

In addition to credit history, the three major credit reporting agencies can also provide you with access to lien records.

I recommend: Experian has a fabulous data search engine that you can used to gather information. It is updated every day and reports on county, state and federal tax liens.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Use the lien records as a means to negotiate a better sale price.
• •  Do not acquire the business or property if the liens represent too much of a liability.
• •  Force the seller to pay off the liens as part of the closing costs.

A lien search can be performed in order for investors to make wise buying decisions. This may include looking for federal tax lien records, mechanical liens, vehicle liens and more. When you search liens against a property, you’re looking at any money owed to collectors that must be paid off in order for the property to be sold.

If you plan to perform regular searches, you’ll want to look into pricing and costs of lien records search. For multiple lien searches, you may want a subscription plan while a single search can cost a one time flat fee.

1. Find providers of public lien records. Different companies have software available that you can use to search for business liens, home liens and more.

2. Compare the costs to look for a lien public record. Choose the provider with the lowest charge for a search.

3. Take out a subscription in order to perform lien searches. Pay a monthly or annual fee to regularly perform a tax or property lien search.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find low cost lien records search tools

Instead of getting expensive software, you can look through lien records at very little cost to your company. You can look for websites that provides this information at a nominal fee to you.

I recommend: On KnowX.com, you can search for several different public lien records. Property and tax liens are available through the site. You can search by person’s name, filing number and location. Prices start at $2.95 for a single search. Monthly subscriptions start at $124.95 for lien records search. Experian has released a software program that can search for county, state and federal tax lien records. Prices start at $10 per record.

Pay a one time fee to conduct a business lien search

If you need to only get a single property or federal tax lien records, you should look for a low price and quick turnaround company to provide this information. Most records will include the case number, judgment amount, filing date and name of debtor.

I recommend: American Databank has several different options that you can choose to purchase a lien record. For a basic lien judgment, you’ll pay a one time fee of around $30. To include bankruptcy records with the lien amounts, you’ll pay a little more: about $50. To conduct a comprehensive property lien search, you’ll need to pay about $100 on Title Search.

Get a subscription to search liens

In order to better budget for lien searches, you can pay a monthly or annual fee to regularly conduct searches on liens against a business or property. A lien search subscription plan can allow you to perform unlimited lien searches during that period.

I recommend: With Rocket Lien Search, you can hire the company to perform regular searches for municipal and county liens. It will cost you an average of a couple hundred dollars a month for unlimited lien searches. You can cancel your subscription at anytime without any penalty. If you become a subscription holder through CT Lien Solutions, you can regularly check for property and tax lien records. Send an information quote for the company to give you a subscription quote.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  In most states, you may have the ability to access public lien records at no cost to your company. Visit the county records office or look on your state's website to perform searches for property or business liens.

Investing in real estate requires a lien record search so you know exactly what you're getting into. Lien searches indicate if there is any outstanding debt against the property. Those liens must be paid off before the title can be cleared for outright purchase. Each state has laws governing liens, and you can conduct a search through the recording entity in the county in which the property is located. To help you fully understand the results of a lien records search, consider the following key terms.

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Tax liens

When an individual defaults on his or her property taxes, a lien is imposed against that individual. The lien acts as a security interest over the property to secure payment for the debt owed.

I recommend: SaveWealth explains how real estate tax liens work.

First lien

If a lien is declared as a first lien, it is given priority over other liens taken against the property. Priority is determined by the order in which liens were recorded against the property.

I recommend: Check out additional information about first liens from CSI Mortgage.

Tax lien certificates

Another way of collecting on tax debt owed is for a tax collector to sell the tax to an investor. The investor is then issued a tax lien certificate, which entitles him or her to a stake in the property.

I recommend: Learn more about what it means to invest in tax certificates through the Tax Research Foundation.

Marketable title

The ultimate goal is to have a marketable title on a piece of property. A marketable title refers to a title that can be transferred to a new owner without claims to the property being made by a third party.

I recommend: LandAmerica offers a complete definition with examples of a marketable title.

Tax levy

A tax lien is commonly confused with a tax levy. A tax levy is an action by the IRS to take control of property in order to satisfy a tax debt. Property covered by a tax lien is usually protected from a tax levy.

I recommend: Roni Lynn Deutch explains the difference between a tax levy and a tax lien.

Property folio number

To perform a proper lien records search, you need a property folio number in addition to the address. The property folio number is the data providing the legal description of the property's individual tract of land.

I recommend: The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners provides more information about property addresses and property folio numbers.