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GlossaryLiensTitle

Lien

2 min read
Short answer
A lien is a claim against property securing a debt. It does not transfer ownership — it attaches to the property, follows it, and generally must be satisfied before the property can be conveyed with clear title. Liens rank by priority, and property tax liens outrank everything regardless of when they arose.

A lien is a legal claim against property securing a debt or obligation.

It is not ownership. The owner still owns the property. What the lienholder has is a claim against it and, depending on the lien, a route to enforce.

Two broad categories#

Consensual. Created by agreement. A mortgage is the standard example — the owner grants it deliberately in exchange for the loan.

Non-consensual. Imposed. Property tax liens, judgment liens, mechanic's liens, HOA liens, utility liens certified to the taxes. The owner did not agree; the law attached the claim.

They attach to the property#

The consequence that matters at every transaction.

A lien recorded against a property follows the property. A buyer who takes title with an unsatisfied lien has acquired it — which is why a title search is not a formality and why the settlement statement clears liens from the seller's proceeds.

That is also why an unreleased mortgage — paid off but never satisfied of record — is such a persistent problem. The record still shows the claim.

Priority#

Generally first in time, first in right: earlier recording takes precedence.

With the exception that reorganises everything: property tax and special assessment liens outrank all of it, regardless of when they arose.

That is why an unpaid tax bill genuinely threatens a mortgage, why servicers advance delinquent taxes and add them to the loan, and why a clean-looking Torrens certificate can still carry a tax lien that never appeared as a memorial.

What happens at a foreclosure#

The foreclosing lien's position determines the outcome for everyone else.

Senior liens survive the sale. A buyer at a sheriff's sale takes subject to anything ranking above the foreclosed mortgage.

Junior liens are extinguished. Their remedy is reinstatement before the sale or redemption after it, in priority order.

Establishing what is on title, and where the foreclosing lien sits in the stack, is the whole of the due diligence before bidding at any foreclosure sale.

Clearing one#

Pay it and record the satisfaction. Paying without recording leaves the record showing an unsatisfied claim, which is the same problem for the next examiner.

Expiry, where the lien has a statutory life — a judgment lien continues for ten years after entry under Minn. Stat. 548.09.

Court action, where the holder is gone or the claim is disputed.

Bankruptcy, in narrow circumstances where a lien impairs an exemption.

Common questions

Does a lien mean I lose my property?
No. A lien is a claim, not ownership. What it does is prevent a clean sale or refinance until it is satisfied, and give the holder a route to enforce — which for some liens means foreclosure.
Do liens follow the property or the person?
Property liens attach to the property and follow it. That is why a title search matters: a buyer who takes property with an unsatisfied lien on it has acquired the lien along with the house.
Which liens come first?
Generally by recording date, first in time first in right — with the major exception that property tax and special assessment liens take priority regardless of when they arose.
Keep reading
Encumbrance
Any claim, right or restriction affecting property that is held by someone other than the owner, including liens, easements and covenants.
Lien priority
The order in which liens are paid from a property, generally determined by recording date but with statutory exceptions that outrank everything.
Judgment lien
A lien on real property created by docketing a money judgment, which in Minnesota attaches for ten years from entry of the judgment.