Attorney negotiating municipal lien on REO?

Question

We are in the process of buying a home In Pinellas county, FL and after our file Cleared understanding we heard back that there is a municipal lien on the property. The issues were fixed by the bank earlier in the year but from what I'm being told the lien was never removed. Does anyone have any advice / experience with this? Time it usually takes an attorney go negotiate the lien fees?

Wesley Weber · Answer

the bank said they were paying the fine for the lien.

Jeff Copeland · Answer

Assuming it's a code enforcement lien, most municipalities will have a special magistrate or a code enforcement hearing board that handles cases like this. If you do a little digging and talk to the right person, you can usually get the inside scoop on the process and the usual percentage that fines/liens may be reduced to.

You probably don't need an attorney. In fact, you might get more sympathy as the new owner who is fixing the place up and shouldn't be held accountable for the bank's wrongdoing.

All that being said, there are no guarantees that the lien will be reduced. You have to close on the property, then take your chances at a hearing.

Good luck.

Wesley Weber · Answer

I wasn't told the exact details of the lien, just that it was a municipal lien. Correct the code violation was fixed (I presume) based on the limited information I had received on the lien.

Wayne Brooks · Answer

What kind of lien? Most code violation liens can be negotiated down, others have to be paid in full, period. By "issues were fixed, but lien never removed" I assume you mean a code violation lien. Fixing the violation only stops additional fines, it doesn't eliminate past fines.

Attorney negotiating municipal lien on REO?

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