I filed a materialmen's lien several years ago and the property was sold to another investor for non-payment of property taxes. Is my lien still valid and how should I proceed from here?
1 reply
May 15, 2019
That's a good question, and I'm sorry to hear you went unpaid for your work. Unfortunately, mechanics liens that are filed and not enforced over a period of years are very likely unenforceable - regardless of any tax lien foreclosure. Mechanics liens have strict lien enforcement deadlines, and if a lien is filed but not foreclosed, that lien will become unenforceable. In Mississippi, the deadline to enforce a mechanics lien is 180 days from the time the lien was filed. So, if more than 180 days passes after a mechanics lien has been filed and no enforcement action is filed, the lien will no longer be enforceable. But, when a foreclosure occurs, typically, that will strip the property of all liens associated with the land. So, if a liened property is foreclosed and sold, then any prior liens on that property will likely no longer exist.