What Are Municipal Lien Search Benefits?

A title examination by a real estate law firm in Orlando goes beyond your county Clerk of Court’s office, where deeds, mortgages, and judgment liens are recorded and indexed.

Municipal liens also stand in the way of a seller conveying and a buyer receiving clear title to property. If requested, Orlando FL attorneys handling real estate transactions may conduct additional research to determine the presence of fines for building, zoning, permitting, code enforcement or other ordinance violations involving the property and unpaid bills for municipal garbage, electric, water or other utility services. These fines and outstanding charges may later result in liens against the property. Municipalities also claim liens for their costs of demolition of hazardous structures and removal of unsightly or unsafe conditions. These costs include charges by municipal personnel or contractors to mow excessively tall grass, trim vegetation, clean pools or remove garbage.

To discover these liens, Orlando FL attorneys procure municipal lien searches. This work involves contacting and searching the records of the code enforcement, utility and other municipal departments. This facet of a title examination requires considerable attention to detail and other diligent efforts, since some municipal liens are not recorded in the public records office and different departments may assess costs that result in liens.

Many municipal liens involve alleged code or ordinance violations by the owner of the property. A municipal lien search may show pending violations that have yet to ripen into a municipal lien. If you’re a seller with such a citation, you should promptly contact one of our attorneys at Nishad Khan P.L. You have limited time to appeal the citation before the municipality converts it to a lien so time is of the essence in resolving the citation. Our real estate law firm in Orlando will examine the allegations and advise you if you have grounds to contest or if you need to undertake corrective action. For buyers, we might suggest avoiding the purchase of the property or establishing an escrow account to ensure that the seller corrects the violations.

Whether you are selling or buying property, the lawyers of Nishad Khan P.L. can help you understand and handle actual or potential municipal liens. Contact our office today to begin discussing your case.