FAQ: Does A Mechanic Lien Cloud Title Forever?

Short Answer: No, a mechanic lien will only last for a certain proscribed period of time. Once that time has passed, the lien holder must file a lawsuit to foreclose upon the lien. If the lawsuit is filed, the lien will stay active until the suit is concluded. If the lawsuit is not filed, the lien expires forever.

Long Answer: Filing a mechanic’s lien can be quite a chore. In many cases, filing a construction lien comes only after you’ve delivered the proper notices, then filed the lien in accordance with strict statutory requirements, and then served the filed lien upon interested parties like the property owner.

After all this hard work, you may think the job is over and that you’ve done everything you need to do to protect your right to get paid. Unfortunately, you haven’t.

Folks who don’t file mechanic liens often are very surprised to learn that a mechanic lien will expire, and in some cases, it will expire fast (in California, for example, a lien expires 90 days after its filed).

In a minority of states, parties can file one or two “lien extension.” However, in most cases, the only way to keep your mechanic lien active is to file a lawsuit to foreclose upon the lien. The filing of a foreclosure suit will keep the lien effective until the conclusion of the suit.

Here are some older posts on the Construction Lien Blog with additional information:

• Can I File An Extension To A Mechanic’s Lien?
• How Long Will A Mechanic’s Lien Cause Havoc? Not Very
• What Happens After You File A Mechanics Lien?

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