What are Tax Liens on Real Estate?
The definition of a lien is that it is a claim against an item by another party that uses the claim as security against a loan or other obligation. The lien usually has precedence when an item is sold and can have implications in the matter of ownership. Tax liens are put on Real Estate when the owners of the property are delinquent in the payment of personal property taxes. What the tax lien really means is that the holder of the lien must be paid from the proceeds of a sale of the property before ownership can be transferred to someone else. In many areas Tax liens are placed on Real Estate by the taxing municipality. These liens are often what are called First Liens because they take precedence over any other obligations against the property. The liens will then be sold at auction as tax lien certificates. The tax lien certificates will require the property owner to either pay a set yield to release the lien or, if they have failed to pay the yield within an established amount of ti
