Title & Liens

Title problems are the quiet reason sales fall through at the last minute. A judgment against a former owner, a contractor's lien from work done a decade ago, a municipal water and sewer balance, or a mortgage that was paid but never formally discharged — none of these are visible until a title search surfaces them, usually with days to go before closing.

Read these if you suspect something is on the property, or if a sale has already failed once and nobody explained why clearly. Most liens are paid out of sale proceeds at closing rather than something you must clear first, which is better news than it usually sounds when a title company first raises it.