Saline Real Estate and Homes for Sale

When you are looking to sell your Saline real estate, one of the tasks which your Realtor® will do for you is to order an Owner's Title Insurance Policy.  Think of it as your way to insure to the buyer that you are the rightful owner of your property, and that you are legally able to sell the property.

When you get your Title policy, you want to make sure that you don't have any clouds on the title.  I've written about this before.  One of the types of clouds which could exist is a Lis Pendens.

So, what is a Lis Pendens on your Saline real estate?

Lis pendens is Latin for "suit pending".  As one of my fellow Bloggers has learned in his law classes, here is the technical definition:

Lis pendens is a written notice that a lawsuit has been filed which concerns the title to real property or some interest in that real property.  The lis pendens (or notice of pending action) is filed with the clerk of the court, certified that it has been filed, and then recorded with the County Recorder.  This gives notice to the defendant who owns real estate that there is a claim on the property, and the recording informs the general public (and particularly anyone interested in buying or financing the property) that there is this potential claim against it.  (Law dictionary)

So what does this mean for your Saline real estate?

With a lis pendens filed, someone is saying, "Hey, I own a piece of this property."  They may think they own all or part of it, or they may have a lien against it and they have already (or are about to) file a law suit.  Whether or not this suit is valid is up to the court to decide.

A lis pendens will place a "cloud" on the title that will have to be cleared before a transfer of title (think "sale") can take place.  A title insurance company has no way to know if the title will be clear to transfer to you, the prospective buyer.   If there is no title insurance, there can be no loan.

Why would someone record a lis pendens on a property?  Recognize that I'm not an attorney, and I'm not qualified to give legal advice.  These two primary reasons are based on my own observations and experience since 1994.

• 1. Divorce or separation.

John and Jane Doe are married, but heading toward divorce.  Jane tells John that he can have the house, while she moves out.  John puts the house up for sale.  Jane comes to her senses and realizes that John is going to walk away with all of the equity.  Jane's divorce attorney files a lis pendens on the property to protect Jane's interests in the equity.

• 2. Inheritance.

When the owner of real estate dies and leaves the property to an heir, that heir may have legal claims against them already.  The lis pendens protects the interests of those who have the legal claim against the heir.

These are only two of many possible reasons that a lis pendens may be recorded.  A title company will research the situation and can advise you of what will be involved to clear the cloud on the title.  In such a situation, I have always recommended that your attorney be consulted before making any further decisions about the real estate.

I hope that this brief article will help you to understand what is a Lis Pendens on your Saline real estate.

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If you have questions about your specific situation, or if you're considering buying or selling any Saline real estate, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of my experience in the Saline market.  I'd be happy to meet with you!  Just give me a call at (734) 476-2063, or send an e-mail, "Vance (at) SalineMichiganRealEstate (dot) com".

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Many thanks to Jay Thompson for the inspiration of this article.

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