Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia

Re: No lien but my lawyer won't close until judgment is paid

I would suggest that you stop by the circuit court

(civil division)in the jurisdiction where the property is located and check the judgment lien book yourself in the land records section where the judgment to which you're referring is very likely recorded.

It's now possible in some jurisdictions to do this kind of search via the Internet.

Re: No lien but my lawyer won't close until judgment is paid

You say there is no lien. A judgment is an automatic lien, and it will have automatically attached to the real estate as long as it was entered or docketed in the circuit court for the county in which the real estate is located. Anyway, it is likely that this is not a requirement of the closing attorney (who would not make such requirements - but if you hired him he may give you legal advice recommending that it be paid off), but of either the buyer, his lender or the title insurance company. Note that while you may "dispute" the judgment, if it is a judgment against you and is final and the appeal period has run without an appeal having been filed, or such appeal having been decided against you, your dispute of this judgment is legally irrelevant.