Title issues
Unsatisfied mortgage of record
A paid-off mortgage with no recorded satisfaction still reads as a live lien in ACRIS. Here is how it is found, how it is cleared, and who pays for it.
What is an unsatisfied mortgage of record?
Quick Answer
Lien · Blocks the closing until it is resolved
How is it found?
- The title search returns a recorded mortgage with no corresponding satisfaction or assignment chain closing it out
- ACRIS shows a satisfaction recorded against the wrong block and lot or the wrong party name
- A prior refinance paid off the old loan but the satisfaction was never submitted for recording
- The original lender merged, failed, or was acquired, and the successor never released the lien
How is it cured?
- Request a satisfaction from the current holder of the note, tracing mergers and assignments to the right successor
- Where the satisfaction exists but was mis-indexed, record a correction so it attaches to the right block and lot
- Where the lender is defunct, use a lost-instrument affidavit and an indemnity supported by proof of payoff
- Where nothing else works, seek a discharge under the Real Property Law remedies for satisfied or ancient mortgages
- Where the payoff is real and current, pay it at closing out of the seller’s proceeds and record the satisfaction immediately
What does clearing it cost?
Clearing a mis-indexed satisfaction is a recording cost plus the time to prepare the correction. Tracing a defunct lender through mergers is where the time goes, and a judicial discharge is the costly path because it is a proceeding. The number depends entirely on which of those four paths the file lands on.
Who pays for it?
The seller delivers marketable title, so the seller carries the cost of clearing a lien that arose during their ownership or their predecessor’s. Where the payoff is live rather than stale, it comes out of the seller’s proceeds at the closing table.
Why does a paid mortgage still show as a lien?
Because payment and release are two separate acts. Paying the balance ends the debt; recording a satisfaction ends the lien in the public record. If nobody records the satisfaction, the record keeps showing an encumbrance, and a purchaser reading the record has no way to tell the difference.
How long does it take to clear one?
A cooperative current lender can issue a satisfaction in a few weeks. A mis-indexed satisfaction can be corrected quickly once it is located. Tracing a failed or acquired lender takes longer and is unpredictable, and a judicial discharge runs on the court’s schedule, which is why it is the last option.
Can the deal close before the satisfaction is recorded?
Sometimes. Where the payoff is documented and the only missing piece is the recording, the parties can close against an escrow and an undertaking to record. Where the lien is unresolved rather than merely unrecorded, it needs to be cleared first, because the buyer would otherwise take title subject to it.
What else should you read before closing?
In the glossary
- Satisfaction of mortgageThe instrument that releases a paid mortgage from the record. Until it is recorded, the old mortgage still appears as a lien against the property.
- LienA claim against property securing payment of a debt. Liens rank by priority, and closing normally means paying or releasing every one ahead of the ...
- ACRISNew York City's public index of recorded property documents. Deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, easements and many liens are recorded here, which mak...
- Chain of titleThe sequence of recorded conveyances of a property, from an earlier known owner to the present one. Gaps and defective links in the chain are what ...
- Marketable titleTitle a reasonable buyer would accept, free of defects that would expose that buyer to litigation. Most New York contracts require the seller to co...
- Payoff letterA 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.
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...
- How long does a title search take?Three to five business days for a clean NYC house or condo, longer for co-ops, estates and multi-parcel files. What slows a New York title search d...
Title issues
- Judgment lien against the sellerA docketed money judgment attaches to New York real property the seller owns in that county. Here is how it surfaces, how it clears, and who pays it.
- Open permitAn open DOB permit is work the City still shows as unfinished. It rarely kills a NYC deal outright, but it moves the date and it follows the buyer.
The statute itself
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Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.