Sell a house with a tax lien
Most people who need to sell a house with a tax lien believe the lien blocks the sale outright. It does not. A lien is a claim against the proceeds, and the standard way it gets resolved is that the title company pays it off at closing out of the sale price before anything reaches you. Unpaid property taxes, an IRS lien, a contractor's mechanic's lien, and municipal fines are all routinely cleared exactly this way.
Why liens still derail conventional sales
The problem is rarely the lien itself, it is time and certainty. Liens surface during the title search, often weeks into a transaction, and a buyer on a mortgage may not have the flexibility to wait while payoff figures are requested and negotiated. Deals collapse and the seller starts over, now with a property that has been on the market longer. Delinquent property taxes carry a further risk: counties can eventually move to a tax sale, which has its own timeline entirely separate from any mortgage.
What to know
The lien is paid from the proceeds, not from your pocket
You do not need to clear the lien before selling. The title company handles payoff at closing and you receive whatever remains. If the sale price exceeds the total of all liens, you still walk away with money.
Different liens have different priority
Property tax liens generally take priority over almost everything else, including the mortgage. Federal tax liens, judgment liens, and mechanic's liens sit in their own order. Priority determines who gets paid first from the proceeds, which matters when the total is close to the sale price.
The IRS has a discharge process, and it takes lead time
A federal tax lien can be discharged from a specific property so a sale can close, but the application takes time to process. If there is an IRS lien, say so at the very start so the request goes in immediately rather than at week four.
Delinquent property taxes run on the county's clock
Counties can eventually sell a tax certificate or the property itself. That timeline is set by state and county law and is entirely independent of your mortgage. Find out where you actually stand with the county rather than guessing.
Order a title search early rather than late
Old liens routinely surface that owners had genuinely forgotten or never knew about, including judgments from an ex-spouse, a contractor dispute, or an old HOA balance. Better to know in week one.
This is general information based on what we see in this situation regularly. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and the rules differ meaningfully from state to state. Talk to an attorney or a CPA about your specific circumstances.
How we handle this specifically
- We buy with liens in place and clear them through the title company at closing.
- We are used to IRS discharge requests, municipal fines, HOA balances, and judgment liens.
- We pay for the title work, so you are not funding the search that finds the problems.
- If total liens exceed what the house is worth, we will tell you plainly rather than string it out.
How selling to us actually works
Tell us about the house
The address and a rough sense of its condition is enough to start. You do not need photos, an appraisal, repair estimates, or anything cleaned up first.
About 2 minutes
We look at it properly
We pull comparable sales, check the condition ourselves, and work out what the house is actually worth to us. One walkthrough, at a time that suits you, and we pay for any inspection.
Usually within 24 to 48 hours
You decide, and you pick the date
We put the number in writing with no pressure and no expiry games. If you accept, a title company handles closing and you choose the date. If you decline, that is genuinely the end of it.
Close in about 1 to 3 weeks, or later if you prefer
Common questions
- Can I sell a house that has a lien on it?
- Yes. Liens are paid from the sale proceeds at closing by the title company. They reduce what you net, but they do not prevent the sale.
- What if the liens are worth more than the house?
- Then the sale needs lien holders to accept less than full payoff, which some will consider. It takes longer and is not certain. We will be straight with you about whether it is realistic.
- There is an IRS lien on the property. Does that stop it?
- No, but it adds time. The IRS has a formal discharge process for exactly this. Tell us at the start so the application goes in immediately.
- How far behind on property taxes is too far?
- It depends entirely on your county's tax sale timeline. Call the county treasurer and get your actual status. Until a tax sale is finalized you generally still have options.
Related situations
Facing foreclosure
There is usually more time and more equity left than lenders make it feel like.
Behind on mortgage payments
Missed payments are not the same as losing the house or the equity.
Inherited a property
Often shared between siblings, full of belongings, and costing money every month.
We handle this in every market we buy in
Find out what we would pay for your house
It takes about two minutes, there is no obligation, and there is never a fee. If we are not the right answer for your situation, we will tell you that too.