Closings glossary
Judgment lien
A lien created by docketing a money judgment against the owner. It reaches real property in the county of docketing and is a routine payoff item at a closing.
What is a judgment lien on a property?
Quick Answer
The full definition
A lien created by docketing a money judgment against the owner. It reaches real property in the county of docketing and is a routine payoff item at a closing.
Which related terms should you know?
These are the terms that come up alongside judgment lien in the same file.
- Lien
- A claim against property securing payment of a debt. Liens rank by priority, and closing normally means paying or releasing every one ahead of the buyer's interest.
- Encumbrance
- Any interest in the property held by someone other than the owner, whether monetary such as a mortgage or lien, or non-monetary such as an easement or a covenant.
- Payoff letter
- A lender's statement of the amount required to satisfy and release a mortgage on a specific date, with a daily interest figure for any later date.
- Title search
- The records examination behind a title report, covering the chain of title, encumbrances and court filings against the owners. It precedes the commitment.
- Cloud on title
- Any claim or encumbrance that may impair the owner's title. New York owners resolve the serious ones through a quiet title action under RPAPL Article 15.
- Foreclosure search
- A record search for foreclosure actions touching the property or the current owner. Prior foreclosures in the chain often need extra proof that every necessary party was served.
Where does judgment lien come up in a New York City closing?
A Queens seller has a $12,000 consumer judgment docketed in 2021, and the payoff is deducted on the closing statement so the deed can pass clear.
What else should you read before closing?
Questions this raises
- What happens if the title search finds a problem before closing?Schedule B-I requirements are the punch list, not a dead deal. How New York closings clear old liens, missing satisfactions and name hits before th...
- What is curative title work?Curative work clears Schedule B-I before closing: payoffs, missing satisfactions, heirship affidavits, ACRIS indexing fixes and escrow holdbacks in...
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