Winning the auction does not mean you own it free and clear. Before you bid, run a title search and check taxes, HOA, code enforcement, municipal liens, and senior mortgages. What survives depends on the type of sale and the priority of each lien.
The auction price is not your all-in price. The biggest mistake new investors make is assuming every lien disappears when the gavel drops. Some do. Some do not. You need to know which before you bid.
Start with the sale type
Foreclosure sale: A lender (or another lienholder) foreclosed. Liens that were senior to the foreclosing lien may survive. Junior liens are generally the ones wiped out.
Tax deed sale: The county sells for unpaid taxes. Liens and interests are treated under Chapter 197. Do not assume a clean slate. Get a title professional to confirm.
The lien checklist
Property taxes. Confirm what is owed and whether certificates are outstanding.
Mortgages and HELOCs. Who foreclosed, and what is senior to them?
HOA and condo association liens. Past-due assessments can be large and sometimes carry priority issues. Ask for a payoff or estoppel after you own it, and research before.
Code enforcement liens and fines. Fines can keep growing. Check the city and county records.
Municipal and utility liens. Water, sewer, mowing, demolition.
IRS and judgment liens. Federal tax liens are handled under federal rules. Get a title professional’s read.
Open permits and unpermitted work. Not a lien, but it can freeze your resale.
Where to look
County Clerk of Courts official records
Property appraiser and tax collector sites
City and county code enforcement search
HOA management company
A title company or attorney running a full search
What I do on every deal
I do not take a lien list from an auction site as the answer. I order title work, read each recorded document, and add anything that survives to my bid math. If the numbers still work, I bid. If I cannot get answers, I pass.
Your next step
Pick a property you are watching. Pull the official records and write down every lien, who holds it, and when it was recorded. Then ask a title agent what survives. That one exercise will teach you what to look for.
How I can help you do this
See the proof first: review my full track record and the before and after projects. Then join the investor list if you want to work together.
I have spent 23+ years working foreclosures, tax deeds, short sales, and probate, so I have seen what surviving liens, HOA balances, and code fines do to a bid. I am not your title company or attorney, but I help you set up the work correctly:
Build the lien checklist for the specific property you are watching.
Pull and read the records with you. Clerk, tax collector, code enforcement, and HOA.
Add the real costs into your numbers so you bid with the full picture.
Connect you with a title agent or attorney for the legal opinion on what survives.
If the numbers do not work after the liens, I will tell you to pass. That saves more money than any deal I find.
This is education, not legal advice. Lien priority is fact-specific. Use a Florida attorney or title agent before you bid.
Junior liens are not automatically eliminated in every foreclosure: joinder, service, priority and federal rules can change the result. Have counsel review the actual case and title history.
Originally published on Equity Edge Orlando. Reviewed for this Substack edition.