Can I sell a house with a lien or judgment on it in Maryland?

The short version

• A recorded money judgment is a lien on your land in the county where it was indexed and recorded, under Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 11-402. It attaches from the date of the judgment, not before.
• County property tax, a tax sale certificate, an association lien, unpaid Baltimore City water bills and a ground rent arrearage all sit ahead of you at the table and come out of proceeds in the order the title company sets.
• A lien you did not know about shows up in the title search, which is why a cash buyer who orders title early finds it weeks before closing, not the day of.
• Old Line Home Buyers buys houses with open liens and judgments regularly. The number we offer is the price; what you owe comes out of it, and the title company shows every line before you sign.

How a sale with liens closes

1. Tell us what you know is owed: mortgage, judgment, back taxes, association dues, a contractor. Surprises cost time, not the deal.
2. We sign and the title company runs the search. Every recorded lien comes back with a payoff figure.
3. If the payoffs add up to less than the price, settlement proceeds as normal and you receive the balance.
4. If they add up to more, the lienholders have to agree to take less. That is a short sale and we have done them; it adds weeks, not a wall.

Liens that need a specific move

• A tax sale certificate already sold. Redeem it through the county before the holder forecloses the right of redemption. The sale proceeds can fund the redemption at the table. See selling before the tax sale.
• An IRS lien. The title company requests a payoff or a discharge from the IRS before closing. Start early; the IRS is not fast.
• A judgment you dispute. It still has to be released to convey clear title. A paid judgment that was never released is fixed with a line of satisfaction from the creditor.
• An association lien. Paid from proceeds under the resale packet rules; see HOA and condo liens.