How to Research Liens Before a Foreclosure Auction

A trustee's sale wipes out liens recorded after the deed of trust being foreclosed and leaves senior liens and property taxes in place. Knowing which is which is the difference between a bargain and a property you cannot clear title to.

Lien priority in Texas generally follows recording order: first recorded, first paid. The foreclosed deed of trust sits somewhere in that order. Everything junior to it is extinguished by the trustee's deed; everything senior survives and the buyer takes subject to it. Property tax liens are senior to everything regardless of date.

Other mortgages on the property are the first thing to check. A first-lien foreclosure wipes a second-lien deed of trust; a second-lien foreclosure leaves the first in place, and the buyer owes it. Find every deed of trust against the parcel and every release, and place the foreclosed one in the order. The mortgage-tracing guide shows how.

Homeowners associations record assessment liens for unpaid dues, and releases when they are paid. Under most declarations the HOA lien is subordinate to a purchase-money mortgage, so a first-lien foreclosure usually wipes it, but unpaid dues can still surface at closing and some declarations are written differently.

A recorded judgment attaches to the debtor's non-exempt real property in the county. A Texas homestead is protected from most judgment creditors, but the protection ends when the property stops being the debtor's homestead, and a buyer at auction is not the debtor. Check whether the judgment was recorded before or after the foreclosed deed of trust.

Federal tax liens survive a foreclosure sale for 120 days unless the IRS was properly notified; property tax liens always survive. Both must be paid to clear title.

A mechanic's lien for unpaid work can relate back to when the work began. A lis pendens is notice of a pending lawsuit about the property, not a lien itself, but it warns that title is in dispute.

Search the clerk's index by the owner's name and by the parcel's legal description, then classify what comes back. PlotCipher's property research lists every lien and recorded claim against an address by type, marks each as a verified match, a possible match or one needing verification, notes whether a release was found, and links to the instrument. The Dallas County and Collin County pages list what is posted for sale.