Q: Attorney Lienholder who does not reply to request for lien payoff letter. Is there an alternative for removing liens?
I have a rental house under contract to sell, with closing schedule in a couple of weeks. The house has several judgement liens (Fi-Fa) that must be cleared up. Two different attorneys hold the liens. The closing attorney was authorized to do so and has asked both attorneys to provide a statement and letter of payment required to clear up the liens. As the owner, I am not interested in trying to "negotiate" the amounts, but I do know what the maximum payments should be. One attorney quickly replied with a professionally written letter. The other attorney has not responded for over a week. Closing attorney has been in touch with them three times. I will, of course, ask the closing attorney about alternatives if they do not respond. I would appreciate input from anyone else who has dealt with this sort of almost ridiculous situation. Why would the one attorney not be responding?
A: As an attorney who handles closing, I understand your frustration. Sometimes the attorney who filed the lien no longer represents the creditor. Sometimes the law firm no longer exists. Sometimes the creditor no longer exists or has died. There are a lot of reasons why it would take a few weeks to receive a payoff on a lien. Eventually, the payoff will issue, and your closing will occur.
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