Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

The short answer is "yes," you can do it yourself, but it is very unlikely that you can do it yourself without the risk of invalidating it, or at the very least giving the debtor something that they could "hang their hat on" to contest the lien. The mere fact that you refer to "renewing" the lien suggests you do not know enough about liens and collections to do it yourself. Liens are not renewed. If it is a judgment lien, you may need to renew the judgment. If it is some other type of lien, such as to secure a debt, you don't renew the lien either, but you may have to sue to enforce the debt or the debt and lien will become unenforceable due to the statute of limitations. It is unlikely you are referring to a mechanic's lien, but if you are you only have 90 days from completion to file a lawsuit to enforce it. All of which is to say you need to talk to someone about this in person.

The lien is incidental to the debt. You have to transfer the underlying debt, and the lien follows with it. A transfer of the lien without the underlying right to collect the debt is a legal nullity.

Transfer of the debt will depend on the nature of the debt.