My cash out refi nearly fell through because of a missed tax lien

I was closing on a cash out refi for my house in Portland last month and the title search found a $3,200 tax lien from 2019 that I never knew about. Turns out the previous owner never paid their property taxes and it stuck to the property. I had to scramble to get the county records fixed and pay it off before the underwriter would sign off. Has anyone else dealt with surprise liens popping up mid-process?

2 comments

2 Comments

irisg578h agoMost Upvoted

Heard a tax attorney say those old liens are way more common than people realize.

abby_robinson586h ago

Funny @irisg57 mentioned that because I just dealt with the same thing on a rental property in Seattle. The kicker is sometimes those old tax liens don't show up on standard credit checks, they only pop when a title company digs into county records. So even if you've been paying your own taxes for years, a previous owner's slip could totally blindside you at closing.