Thread: Lien on Title, Seller Refuses To Clear

Hello all! I recently had an offer accepted on a home in PA. All was going well until the Title Search showed a lien from a credit card company. The seller stated that he would sell the property by a certain date because the credit card company would accept less money as a settlement if the deal closed by this date. This required me to close the deal in 17 days from the offer. Keep in mind my sales agreement gives me much more time. The artificial 'due date' was put forth by the CC company. It now seems we are going to miss that date by 2 days, and the seller now states that he will not clear the title and refuses to sell. I still have 20 days before my sales agreement's closing date. Do I have any options to force the seller to take action on the lien?? BTW, the early closing date is not in the contract and was only put forth as a favor to the seller if the mortgage could be done in time.

What does the purchase contract say? If if says that the seller must provide a clear title, then they are obligated to clear the lein, so long as it closes by the date specified in the contract (not just the shorter time frame).

-Tim

The purchase contract says the seller will provide good and marketable title. However it also says if he cannot, my 2 options are to accept the title and be responsible for the lien, or terminate the agreement. Neither of those are acceptable. The worst part is that I have already gave up my apartment and finding a new apartment will cost me hundreds more per month.

Is the seller required to make an effort to clear the lien, or if they don't want to sell anymore can they just sit on it?

I think a third option would be to get the lien holder to sign a waver of the lien. honestly I am sure sure that would likely happen though

They can also bond around the lien to get it closed.