Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Washington

Re: Expired Mechanic's Lien regarding buyer

From your question, I'm not sure if you're selling or buying. Either way, the liens will most likely cause a problem. Those liens will be exceptions to coverage that the title insurer will provide. Consequently, you may have difficulty getting financing from a bank or institutional lender. They don't want the lien created by their trust deed to be subordinate to any others.

The remedy, assuming the lien claimants refuse to cooperate, is to file a petition under Cal. Civil Code sec 3154. That code section allows the owner of real property to petition the court for a decree releasing real property from stale (expired) liens.

If you are the owner and intend to sell, you may find yourself forced to file 11 petitions before you'll be able to attract any buyers. If you're interested in purchasing, you might want to see if the owner is willing to file the petitions and clear the title. As a buyer you would not be able to file such petitions until you actually own the property, and buying under these circumstances is dicey at best - assuming you could get a lender to loan the money with the title problems you've described.

Hope this helps. Feel free to let me know if you have further questions, but definitely contact a local attorney who is savvy about the mechanic's lien laws.

Best of luck,

Tom Newton