If your house has a tax lien, judgment, mechanic's lien, or back-owed property taxes attached to it, you might think you can't sell. You can. We buy houses with title issues all the time — we just pay off the liens at closing from the sale proceeds, and you get what's left over. No upfront cost to you, no scrambling to clear the title before the sale.
A lien on your property creates what's called a 'title cloud.' Traditional buyers' lenders require clear title before they'll fund a mortgage — which means any unpaid lien has to be resolved BEFORE closing, often out of the seller's pocket.
If you don't have the cash on hand to pay off a $15,000 IRS lien or $8,000 in back property taxes, you're stuck. The buyer's lender won't proceed. The deal falls apart. You're back where you started, with the lien still growing.
FHA, conventional, and VA loans all require a clear title at closing. Most retail buyers can't close on a house with unresolved liens, period.
Title companies will flag the lien and require it to be paid before issuing a policy. Without insurance, no lender funds. No funding, no closing.
IRS liens accrue interest and penalties. Back property taxes get added to each year you don't pay. Mechanic's liens can lead to foreclosure on their own. Time isn't your friend here.
Most lenders won't refinance a property with an active lien attached. The very thing you need money for becomes the thing blocking you from getting it.
Homeowner's association liens have foreclosure rights in many states, even for relatively small amounts. The clock is ticking faster than people realize.
Three things that make this work when you have liens or tax issues.
We pay off the lien at closing from sale proceeds. The title company handles the disbursement — IRS, county, HOA, mechanic's lien holder, whoever's owed gets paid first from the closing funds. You don't pay anything out of pocket.
We buy regardless of title complications. Multiple liens, judgments, unpaid taxes, and even properties currently in collection — we can usually still close. We've worked with title companies on enough of these to know what's solvable.
You walk away with the remaining proceeds. After liens are paid from the sale, what's left over is yours. For many sellers, that's enough to make a real difference — paying off remaining debts, putting money toward a new place, or just stopping the financial bleeding.
Common Questions
We pay off the liens from the sale proceeds. You walk away with what's left. No upfront cost, no scrambling to clear title before closing.