Judgment Lien
A judgment lien secures payment of a court judgment against property. Understand how judgment liens attach, persist, and can be removed.
Definition
A judgment lien is a court‑ordered claim that attaches to a debtor’s real property to secure the payment of a monetary judgment. After a creditor wins a lawsuit, they can record the judgment with the county recorder, creating a lien on any property owned by the debtor in that jurisdiction. The lien must be satisfied before the property can be sold or refinanced. Judgment liens typically remain in effect for a specified period and may accrue interest. Homeowners may remove a judgment lien by paying the debt, negotiating a settlement, or filing for bankruptcy in certain circumstances.
Why It Matters
Old debts attach to real property automatically once a creditor records the judgment in your county, and escrow cannot record a clean deed until it is paid or released. A forgotten $6,000 medical judgment from 2014 arrives as a $9,400 payoff with a decade of statutory interest attached. Washington judgments run 10 years and can be renewed for 10 more, so age is no guarantee it is gone.
Examples
Title turns up a 2016 credit card judgment for $4,800 against someone with the seller's name, and three days disappear into an affidavit of non-identity.
A contractor's $31,000 judgment is paid out of seller proceeds at closing, including 12% statutory interest accrued since the judgment was entered.
A refinance dies because a judgment lien sits in second position and the creditor will not sign a subordination agreement.
Tips
Order a title report on your own house before listing if you have ever been sued, divorced, or run a business. A lien found in week one is a nuisance; the same lien in week seven is a price reduction.
Insist on a recorded satisfaction of judgment, not a paid-in-full letter. The lien stays on title until the release is actually recorded with the county.
Check the entry date on anything old. A Washington judgment expires after 10 years unless the creditor renewed it, and an expired lien can be cleared from title.
Related Terms
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