Checking liens before you bid at a trustee sale
How to check liens on a property before a foreclosure auction: which deed of trust is being sold, which liens survive the sale, and where each one is recorded.
Blog · Investing
25 days
A federal tax lien filed more than 30 days before a trustee's sale survives it unless the IRS was given written notice of the sale at least 25 days ahead.
Key takeaways
- A trustee's sale sells one deed of trust's lien, not the property free and clear. Liens senior to that deed of trust survive the sale and become the buyer's; liens junior to it are cut off and paid, if at all, from any surplus.
- So the first question is which deed of trust is being foreclosed. If it is a second loan, the first stays on the property and the winning bidder takes it on.
- Property taxes outrank every mortgage lien whatever its date: a Texas tax lien attaches each January 1 and takes priority even over a deed of trust recorded before it.
- A federal tax lien survives the sale unless the IRS got written notice at least 25 days ahead, and even then the IRS can redeem for 120 days. In Nevada, up to nine months of association dues rank ahead of the first deed of trust.
- Search the county recorder's index by the owner's name and the parcel number, check the tax collector and the owners' association separately, ask the trustee, and order a title report before you bid.
Which liens a trustee sale clears
A trustee's sale clears the liens junior to the deed of trust being foreclosed and leaves the senior ones in place, so the buyer takes on every lien that ranks ahead of the loan being sold.
California makes trustees print this warning on the notice of sale of a home of one to four units: "You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property." [1] The same notice adds that the lien auctioned off may be a junior lien, in which case the winner may have to pay off every senior lien before receiving clear title [2].
Arizona puts the rule in one sentence: the trustee's deed is "clear of all liens, claims or interests that have a priority subordinate to the deed of trust and shall be subject to all liens, claims or interests that have a priority senior to the deed of trust" [3]. In Colorado the title that vests after the sale is free of liens junior to the one foreclosed [4], and a Texas buyer takes the property "as is" [5]. Virginia adds a step: since 2024 a buyer must certify that it will pay off any senior security instrument within 90 days of the trustee's deed being recorded [6].
| Lien | Usually ranks | After a sale of the first deed of trust |
|---|---|---|
| A later deed of trust, home equity line or second loan | Junior | Cut off; paid from any surplus in order of priority [7] |
| An earlier deed of trust, when a second is foreclosed | Senior | Survives; the buyer takes the property subject to it [2] |
| Unpaid property taxes | Ahead of mortgage liens; in Texas by statute [8] | Survive, unless paid from the price, as Virginia's trustee does [9] |
| Owners' association dues | Usually junior; part senior in some states | In Nevada up to nine months rank ahead of the first deed of trust [10]; Arizona pays an association's subordinate lien from the proceeds before other junior liens [11] |
| Federal tax lien | By the date its notice was filed | Survives without 25 days' written notice to the IRS [12]; otherwise cut off but redeemable for 120 days [13] |
| Judgment, mechanics' and municipal liens | By each state's rules | Junior ones are cut off; a title report is how to tell which they are |
Find the deed of trust being foreclosed
Start with the notice of sale: it names the deed of trust being foreclosed, and whether that is the first loan on the property or a later one decides which liens you inherit.
A notice identifies the deed of trust by its trustor and its recording reference. Idaho's statute, for one, requires the trustors' names and the book and page where the deed of trust is recorded [14]. An Arizona notice states the loan's original principal balance [15], and a California notice the unpaid balance [16]. Write all of it down: the recording date is where this deed of trust falls in the line of liens you are about to build. How to read a notice of trustee's sale shows where each fact sits.
A small original amount recorded a few years after the purchase is often a second loan or a home equity line. If that is what is being sold, the bigger first loan is still on the property after the sale, and a bid that looks cheap is a bid for a house with a mortgage on it.
Each sale record here carries what a lien check starts from: the beneficiary, the original loan amount and the unpaid balance where the notice prints them, the trustee and its sale line, the trustee sale number and the APN. A complete sample record shows one in full.
Search the recorder's index by owner and parcel
Search the county recorder's index under the owner's name and the parcel number for every document recorded against the property: deeds of trust, assignments, releases, judgments, tax liens and lis pendens.
County indexes are kept by name and parcel, not street address, so get the owner of record and the parcel number from the assessor first. Search the current owner's name, any co-borrower named in the notice, and the parcel number. Many recorders let anyone search their index free online and charge only for copies; others need a visit or a title company.
Look for these, and note each one's recording date:
- Deeds of trust and mortgages, and any assignment that moved one to a new lender.
- Releases and reconveyances, the documents that show a loan was paid off. Treat a deed of trust with no release as still open until a title report says otherwise.
- Judgments and abstracts of judgment against the owner.
- Federal and state tax liens. A notice of federal tax lien on real property is filed in the office the state designates in the county where the property is [17], so look for it in that county's records.
- Mechanics' liens, from contractors who were not paid.
- Lis pendens, a notice that a lawsuit claims an interest in the property.
How to check if a house is in foreclosure walks through the same county search for the notice itself.
Put the liens in order of priority
List what you found by recording date and draw a line at the deed of trust being foreclosed: what is above the line survives the sale, what is below it is cut off, and taxes sit above every line.
Recording date is the usual order, and the exceptions are the ones that cost buyers money. Texas's tax lien "prevails, regardless of whether the debt, lien, future interest, or other encumbrance existed before attachment of the tax lien" [18], and it outranks an owners' association's lien by name [8]. Part of a Nevada association's lien is "prior to all security interests described in paragraph (b) of subsection 2", meaning the first deed of trust [19], up to the assessments that would have come due in the nine months before the association's own notice of default [10]. A recorded subordination agreement can also move a lien below a later one.
The line can move in one more way. In Washington, the recitals in the trustee's deed do not cut off the lien of anyone entitled to notice of the sale whom the trustee failed to notify [20], so a junior lien can survive a sale it was never told about.
Check property taxes and the owners' association
Check unpaid property taxes with the county tax collector and unpaid dues with the owners' association, because neither has to appear in the recorder's index to bind the property.
A Texas tax lien attaches on January 1 of each year for that year's taxes, penalties and interest [21], and it is "perfected on attachment" [22]: nothing is recorded, so a title search that only reads the recorder's index will not show it. The tax collector's account for the parcel will, with any earlier years still unpaid.
For a condominium or a home in a planned community, ask the association for the account's balance and whether it has recorded a lien. In Nevada that balance matters more than anywhere else, for the reason above.
Ask the trustee, then order a title report
Ask the trustee what it knows, then order a title report from a title company close to the sale date: it is the only full list of what is recorded against the property.
Arizona requires the trustee, from 30 days after the notice of sale is recorded, to answer a written request with information about the sale and the property [23], including "A list of the liens and encumbrances upon the trust property as of the date of recordation of the notice of trustee's sale" [24]. California requires a good-faith effort to give anyone current sale dates and postponements [25]. Elsewhere, the sale line answers questions about the sale, not the title.
A title company can run the full search the county index makes slow, including the tax and judgment records. Ask for a report covering everything recorded against the property, and read its list of exceptions: those are the liens and claims that will still be there after the sale.
Check again before the sale
Confirm the sale the day before and the morning of the auction: sales are postponed, cancelled and stayed late, and a bankruptcy filing stops one outright.
A bankruptcy petition operates as an automatic stay of any act to enforce a lien against the property [26] from the moment the petition is filed. Sales are also postponed at the auction itself, as trustee sale postponements explains. Re-run the recorder search for anything new, then call the sale line with the trustee sale number.
Put a price on what survives
Subtract every lien that survives the sale from what the property is worth before you set your maximum bid, along with repairs, holding costs and the time it takes to get possession.
If a second loan is being foreclosed and a $180,000 first loan stays on the property, a $40,000 winning bid is a $220,000 purchase. The foreclosure auction max bid calculator takes surviving liens as a line of its own, and the trustee sale cashier's check calculator turns the answer into checks. How to buy at a trustee sale covers bidding and payment.
We hold 24,584 upcoming trustee sales across 21 states. Every plan shows each one's beneficiary, unpaid balance, trustee, sale line and parcel number, with an estimated value where available. Browse trustee sale coverage by state or see the plans.
Sources
26 primary- [1]Cal. Civ. Code § 2924f(b)(8)(A) — California Legislature“You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property.”
- [2]Cal. Civ. Code § 2924f(b)(8)(A) — California Legislature“You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property.”
- [3]A.R.S. § 33-811(E) — Arizona Legislature“That conveyance shall be absolute without right of redemption and clear of all liens, claims or interests that have a priority subordinate to the deed of trust and shall be subject to all liens, claims or interests that have a priority senior to the deed of trust.”
- [4]C.R.S. § 38-38-501(1) — Colorado General Assembly“such title shall be free and clear of all liens and encumbrances junior to the lien foreclosed”
- [5]Tex. Prop. Code § 51.009(1) — Texas Legislature“acquires the foreclosed property "as is" without any expressed or implied warranties, except as to warranties of title, and at the purchaser's own risk”
- [6]Va. Code § 55.1-321(A2) — Virginia General Assembly“Any purchaser at a foreclosure sale shall provide certification that such purchaser shall pay off any priority security instruments no later than 90 days from the date that the trustee's deed conveying the property pursuant to such sale is recorded in the land records.”
- [7]Cal. Civ. Code § 2924k(a)(3) — California Legislature“To satisfy the outstanding balance of obligations secured by any junior liens or encumbrances in the order of their priority.”
- [8]Tex. Tax Code § 32.05(b) — Texas Legislature“a tax lien provided by this chapter takes priority over: (1) the claim of any creditor of a person whose property is encumbered by the lien; (2) the claim of any holder of a lien on property encumbered by the tax lien”
- [9]Va. Code § 55.1-324(A)(3) — Virginia General Assembly“secondly, to discharge all taxes, levies, and assessments, with costs and interest if they have priority over the lien of the deed of trust”
- [10]NRS 116.3116(3)(b) — Nevada Legislature“would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the 9 months immediately preceding the date on which the notice of default and election to sell is recorded”
- [11]A.R.S. § 33-812(A)(4) — Arizona Legislature“To any condominium association or planned community association as defined in chapter 9 or 16 of this title that had a subordinate lien as provided by law”
- [12]26 U.S.C. § 7425(c)(1) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (United States Code)“in writing, by registered or certified mail or by personal service, not less than 25 days prior to such sale, to the Secretary”
- [13]26 U.S.C. § 7425(d)(1) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (United States Code)“the Secretary may redeem such property within the period of 120 days from the date of such sale or the period allowable for redemption under local law, whichever is longer”
- [14]Idaho Code § 45-1505(3) — Idaho Legislature“by stating the name or names of the trustor or trustors and giving the book and page where the same is recorded, or a description of the trust property”
- [15]A.R.S. § 33-808(C)(4) — Arizona Legislature“The original principal balance as shown on the deed of trust.”
- [16]Cal. Civ. Code § 2924f(b)(7) — California Legislature“The notice of sale shall contain a statement of the total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonably estimated costs, expenses, advances at the time of the initial publication of the notice of sale”
- [17]26 U.S.C. § 6323(f)(1)(A)(i) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (United States Code)“in one office within the State (or the county, or other governmental subdivision), as designated by the laws of such State, in which the property subject to the lien is situated”
- [18]Tex. Tax Code § 32.05(b-1) — Texas Legislature“The priority given to a tax lien by Subsection (b) prevails, regardless of whether the debt, lien, future interest, or other encumbrance existed before attachment of the tax lien.”
- [19]NRS 116.3116(3) — Nevada Legislature“A lien under this section is prior to all security interests described in paragraph (b) of subsection 2 to the extent of”
- [20]RCW 61.24.040(11) — Washington State Legislature“these recitals shall not affect the lien or interest of any person entitled to notice under subsection (1) of this section, if the trustee fails to give the required notice to such person”
- [21]Tex. Tax Code § 32.01(a) — Texas Legislature“On January 1 of each year, a tax lien attaches to property to secure the payment of all taxes, penalties, and interest ultimately imposed for the year on the property”
- [22]Tex. Tax Code § 32.01(d) — Texas Legislature“The lien under this section is perfected on attachment”
- [23]A.R.S. § 33-809(E) — Arizona Legislature“the trustee shall upon receipt of a written request, provide, if actually known to the trustee, the following information relating to the trustee's sale and the trust property”
- [24]A.R.S. § 33-809(E)(3) — Arizona Legislature“A list of the liens and encumbrances upon the trust property as of the date of recordation of the notice of trustee's sale”
- [25]Cal. Civ. Code § 2924f(b)(8)(B) — California Legislature“A mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or authorized agent shall make a good faith effort to provide up-to-date information regarding sale dates and postponements to persons who wish this information.”
- [26]11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(4) — Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives“any act to create, perfect, or enforce any lien against property of the estate”
Questions
How do I check liens on a property for free?
Search the county recorder's online index by the owner's name and the parcel number from the assessor's site; many recorders let anyone search free and charge only for copies. Look for deeds of trust, assignments, releases, judgments, tax liens and lis pendens. Unpaid property taxes are kept by the county tax collector, not the recorder, so check there too. A title company's report costs money but is the only full list.
Do liens go away after a foreclosure auction?
Only the liens junior to the deed of trust that was foreclosed. Arizona's statute says the trustee's deed is clear of every lien with a priority subordinate to the deed of trust and subject to every lien with a priority senior to it, and Colorado's says the title that vests after its sale is free of liens junior to the one foreclosed. Property taxes, part of an owners' association lien in some states and, without proper notice to the IRS, a federal tax lien survive.
What liens survive a trustee sale?
Every lien senior to the foreclosed deed of trust: an earlier first loan when a second is foreclosed, unpaid property taxes, which outrank mortgage liens by statute, a federal tax lien if the IRS was not given written notice at least 25 days before the sale, and in Nevada up to nine months of association assessments. Liens recorded after the foreclosed deed of trust, such as a later second loan, are cut off.
Does a foreclosure auction wipe out a second mortgage?
Yes, when the first deed of trust is the one being foreclosed: the second is junior, the sale cuts it off, and its holder is paid only from any surplus. When the second loan's holder is the one foreclosing, the first survives and the buyer takes the property subject to it. California's required notice to bidders warns of exactly that case.
Can the IRS take back a house bought at a foreclosure auction?
It can redeem it. When a trustee's sale discharges a junior federal tax lien, the IRS may redeem the property within 120 days of the sale, or within the state's redemption period if that is longer. If the lien was filed more than 30 days before the sale and the IRS was not given written notice at least 25 days ahead, the sale does not discharge the lien at all.
Do property taxes survive a foreclosure sale?
Yes. Unpaid property taxes are a lien with priority over the deed of trust, so the sale does not clear them unless they are paid from the price. In Texas the tax lien attaches every January 1 and outranks other liens even if they were recorded first. In Virginia the trustee pays taxes with priority over the deed of trust out of the sale price, after the costs of the sale.
How to cite this article
Quote freely with a link. Where a claim rests on a statute, the source above is the authority; cite it alongside this page.
TrusteeSaleData. "Checking liens before you bid at a trustee sale." Published October 27, 2026. https://www.trusteesaledata.com/blog/how-to-check-liens-on-a-property
Related
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- The trustee's deed: what a foreclosure auction buyer actually getsWhat a trustee's deed is, what it says and what it conveys: no warranty, junior liens cleared, senior liens kept, and the 120-day IRS redemption right bidders miss.
- How long foreclosure takes, stage by stageHow long a foreclosure takes when a trustee sells without a court: 120 days before the first notice, then 21 days in Texas to over three months in California.