Judgment lien against home in foreclosure

[tvscum]

I recorded a $5,000 small claims judgment lien against a residential
house in Nevada in 2001. I recently discovered that the mortgage
company foreclosed on the property in 2002 (though the homeowner has
not declared bankruptcy). I was never contacted by any title company
or the new owners (I live in California).

After the foreclosure, the house was sold at action. The auction buyer
then sold the house again to a third party. At the time of action, the
original owner (who I recorded the lien against) had owned the home for
5 years (from 1997 to 2002), so I assume the property had appreciated
in value significantly.

Do I still have a lien against this property and/or the new owners?
Or, did my lien become void when the foreclosure went through? Is it
possible to collect against the original title company or the current
owners?

Thank you in advance for your help and advice!

[jtno...@yahoo.com]

You will need to check the county property records to see if there is a
recorded lein against the property.-Jitney

[McGyver]

"tvscum" <tvs...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1135785253....@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

Your lien against the property is probably gone. If you had a lien against
the property itself, and if the property was free and clear of all other
liens including any mortgage encumbrance at the time of your filing, the
homeowner would have been unable to get a mortgage loan. So it's likely
that your lien was in second or later position. If so, your lien was wiped
out by foreclosure on the first or second lien. It is also likely that your
lien filing was not against the property itself because the property was
conveyed to the first mortgage holder by a trust deed which was recorded
before your recording. If that's the case, the homeowner didn't own legal
title to the property at the time of your filing, and your filing had no
effect on the property at all. If your lien was a mechanics lien, it would
be against the property regardless of who owned legal title. In that case,
your lien became invalid because of your failure to foreclose on it within
90 days of filing. You can find out by checking the property records in the
county recorder's office.

McGyver

[tvscum]

My lien was recorded with the county recorder's office as a judgment
lien. It was not a mechanic's lien. I thought the title complany was
required to research and notify lien holders when a property is sold.
The guy owned the property for five years, so he must have had some
equity in the home that was his.

Who would I contact to find out? The latest owner? The title company?

[jtno...@yahoo.com]

Start with the county recorder's office.You could also hire a skip
tracer to find where the debtor is now, and if he owns property. You
could also have them track bank accounts and other assets, and perhaps
garnish his wages. But the expense of doing these things should be
compared to the amount you are likely to collect, if anything. Often
these kinds of people have little worth taking. If they are in prison
or on public assistance, as they often are, you are wasting your
time.-Jitney