Flip now has a title issue: what would you do?

[Will Fraser]

Hey BP fam!

I've been slogging through what WAS my first flip for nearly a year now (same old story here -- hired the wrong person, made other bad decisions, blah blah) and we've finally righted the ship by getting a start QB on the field and we're weeks away from market-ready now.  I can taste it!

Then Mr. Postman found me with some certified mail . . . never good.  Ever.

The sack-of-shade contractor that I canned for being so pathetic at his job that it illuminates my idiocy for hanging onto him for 8.5 months, filed a mechanics lien on the property.  Makes sense.  It won't go the distance in court if (sigh . . . . ) it goes to that, but it DOES sufficiently cloud the title and prevent a nice and simple sale.

So, without the ability to transfer the title right now, what would you do with a flip in a desirable location with a broad base of buyers looking to buy in that pricerange? 

Thanks in advance for your thinking here!

Will 

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Originally posted by @Will Fraser:

Hey BP fam!

I've been slogging through what WAS my first flip for nearly a year now (same old story here -- hired the wrong person, made other bad decisions, blah blah) and we've finally righted the ship by getting a start QB on the field and we're weeks away from market-ready now.  I can taste it!

Then Mr. Postman found me with some certified mail . . . never good.  Ever.

The sack-of-shade contractor that I canned for being so pathetic at his job that it illuminates my idiocy for hanging onto him for 8.5 months, filed a mechanics lien on the property.  Makes sense.  It won't go the distance in court if (sigh . . . . ) it goes to that, but it DOES sufficiently cloud the title and prevent a nice and simple sale.

So, without the ability to transfer the title right now, what would you do with a flip in a desirable location with a broad base of buyers looking to buy in that pricerange? 

Thanks in advance for your thinking here!

Will 

 I'd sell on Lease Option for $25,000 Option fee and cash flow the property. That is all I ever do anyway.

You have three ways to deal with a mechanics lien, 1. Pay it off 2. Negotiate it off 3. Sue him for defamation of title. If you owe the money, pay the man. It can be paid at closing as well.

If you don't owe the money or dispute the claim, spend an hour with a real estate attorney and get some good advice.