AM I LIABLE - Posted by keith arnold

Posted by keith arnold on May 06, 2008 at 08:04:23:

Thank you for your responses, I feel some relief. I wanted to clarify: There was not a mechanics lein at the time title cleared, but there were demands for payments & stop notices issued, even prior to escrow signing. You are correct the title company is handling this as well

AM I LIABLE - Posted by keith arnold

Posted by keith arnold on May 05, 2008 at 11:58:02:

I purchased a new home on 10/2/07. Today I am informed the builder has not paid the contractors/sub contracts who have issued suite against builder as well as new owners along with mechanics leins against all properties.
since this was not a custom built home, how much am I actually liable for? The building as well as the demands for payments ocurred long before I entered into escrow

Your Title Ins. Co. will pay - Posted by John Merchant

Posted by John Merchant on May 17, 2008 at 15:47:24:

If you got Title Insurance when you closed, you’re protected and your lawyer* will immediately cross-action against the TC so as to get Judgment making them pay for all your costs incl. your atty’s fees, and you’ll enjoy watching without worry.

This is true value of TC so you’re not concerned about their failure to catch these items when they had their folks examine the title and if that indeed did occur, now they’ve got to pay for their screwup.

But you should notify that TC right now, in writing, so as to put them on notice, and once you do that you’ll likely be bothered no more.

And if you’re soon served with law suit notice, get those docs to TC immediately so they’ll hire their lawyer* and you won’t be out any costs.

*I was once sued on a similar deal but it was weird because I didn’t know if I was covered and immed. hired my own lawyer to file my appearance…but when he took it to the clerk’s office to file it, he was almost mugged by the ins. co.'s lawyer and told to scram as they’d take care of it, which they did.

And I basically did little more than watch as that ins. co. handled the whole mess, sans any cost to me.

Do you have Title Insurance? - Posted by steve

Posted by steve on May 08, 2008 at 13:49:24:

If you got a warranty Deed and Title Insurance you should be fine. Contact the title insurer. Also consider talking to a good Real Estate Attorney.

Re: AM I LIABLE - Posted by River City

Posted by River City on May 05, 2008 at 17:05:59:

Most builder’s contracts state the sale is free and clear of all liens, including mechanic’s liens. Your title policy should address mechanic’s liens. There is a phone number on the title policy. Contact them, as they would be the ultimate entity responsible for seeing that these bills are paid if they insured against them. This should not be a difficult issue to get resolved. You might also seriously consider filing a claim with your local better business bureau. This can be done online, and builders that want to stay in business take these complaints very serious.

Good luck.

Depends on the state - Posted by Rich-CA

Posted by Rich-CA on May 05, 2008 at 12:35:10:

as each state has different rules as to who and how much you owe when you become owner from what the previous owner (in the case the builder) did. First thing I would do is check with my Title Insurance company to see if they obtained a “lien release” or other documentation that there were no encumbrances on the property when you closed. Have them recheck filings up to the point where the new deed was recorded. You may need the services of an attorney to get the liens removed, but in my opinion, and I am not an attorney, you should not be liable for this at all since the work was done before ownership changed hands. Title Insurance may help you with this, which is why I suggest talking to them first.

Re: AM I LIABLE - Posted by keith arnold

Posted by keith arnold on May 06, 2008 at 12:09:01:

Thank you for your responses, I feel some relief. I wanted to clarify: There was not a mechanics lein at the time title cleared, but there were demands for payments & stop notices issued, even prior to escrow signing. You are correct the title company is handling this as well