Time Frame for Placement of Lien

[Kali]

Hello,

Hope someone here is able to offer an opinion on this. I was served with a Summons on May 25 of this year that notified me a credit card company was suing me. I contacted the lawyer I agreed to pay 400 dollars a month. I was desperately trying to avoid a lien on my house because I am trying to sell it to relocate myself and my son back to NY. I need the little bit of money from the sale (have owned the house for less than a year and put 10,000 down on it) to relocate and start a small practice so that I can avoid bankruptcy. I explaned this to the lawyer, who told me they were going to place a lien anyway.

My question is, how long does it take for a lien to actually be placed? A few days, months? If it's a month or more I might be able to sell the house before it's placed. Can anyone comment?



Thanks,

Kali

[HHM]

Well, if you were served on May 25th, and you are now asking this question on July 11, its very likely the lien may already be on the house.

On the Summons, it should have told you how many days you have to respond or when you hearing date was. In most states, its usually 20-30 days after the date you have been served. If you have let the response date lapse, odds are there is already a default judgment, and that judgment can be filed as a lien on your house with you county recorder.

Depending on the law firm and the way the courts work in your area, the lien can take only a matter of a days to a a couple weeks.

[Kali]

I've been speaking with them for several weeks now. They had, like I said, agreed not to put the lien on the house provided I pay them the 400 a month. In the contract however, it was stated that they would. Each time I speak with them, they have a differnet story. The first time it was - oh it's a standard contract, they all say that. We won't submit the file for lien. WHen I asked for a letter that stated specifically that as long as I paid the 400 monthly, there would be no lean, they hemmed and hawed and told me they'd "see what they could do". I heard nothing. Called back and yes they actually were going to place the lein because they didn't think I was going to pay the 400 dollars a month. At this point I'm ready to just abandon the house to move back to NEw York.

My credit history was sterling. I had a ton of student loan debt (340,000) because I financed my medical education by myself, while being a single parent of a young child in NYC. I worked my ass off, finished my Residency last June and moved to Vegas to accept a position. The job however neglected to tell me that I couldn't stqrt for 4-6 mos. I'd purchased a house, and even though I had NEVER bouced a check in my life, and my credit history was Sterling, BOA and Citibank increased my interest rates to 27 (maybe 29) percent because I was in a new "risk category". I continued to try and pay them on time, but the interest was so high that each month, even though I was paying the min amount due, the balance would exceed the limit, and they'd charge me fees. I spoke with them - of course these was nothing they could do, and so one hospital admission (no insurance) and several other little financial disasters later, I quit paying.

At this point I just want to return to NY and try and pull myself out of this hole. I"ve worked so very hard to get where I am (a doctor) - was on welfare for a while after my son was born - and I can say with no uncertainty that my financial situation, which was supposed to improve after becoming a doctor, is more bleak than it has ever been in my life.

By the time I relocate to NY I wont meet the residency reqs to avoid the new law change. Hopefully they will still cut me a break.


Kali