Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Mechanic's lien enforcement

For you to think about this situation accurately, and for a lawyer to analyze it for you, the following things need to be kept clearly in focus:

1. Liens on property have a pecking order. Earlier-recorded liens get paid in full before the first penny goes to pay off a later-recorded lien.

2. Mechanic's liens have a short life. If they are not made the subject of an enforcement action within a few months, they die.

So, a mechanic's lien can be enforced on a house that went through a foreclosure in 2007, but ONLY if the mechanic's lien was recorded in 2009. If the mechanic's lien was recorded in 2007, or 2005, or 1974 for that matter, it is dead as a doornail.

But if the mechanic's lien was recorded in March 2009, it doesn't matter when the house went through foreclosure, it can be the subject of an attempt to enforce it and to foreclose. If the attempt is successful, the mechanic will get paid after all senior liens are paid but before any junior lien gets paid.

See Civil Code section 3144 for important details about the 90-day life span of mechanic's liens,