In real estate, first-lien loans (primary mortgages) let you finance a home purchase, while second-lien loans (home equity loans or HELOCs) let you tap your home’s value for cash. The holder of the ...

What is a lien and how does it affect you? You’re in good company if you’re not exactly sure how liens work. It’s not one of those topics that makes it into most people’s water-cooler conversations.

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Doretha Clemons, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, has been a corporate IT executive and professor for 34 ...

A property lien can be either general or specific and voluntary or involuntary. A mortgage lien is a specific, voluntary lien. The priority of the liens on a property determines which debt will be ...

When you remodel a kitchen or replace a roof, you probably focus on design choices and contractor bids, not the legal ...

When a construction project goes bad, there will often be more than one party looking for payment. The project owner might fail to pay both the contractor and the lender. If both the contractor and ...

It is generally understood that contractors and design professionals may not place mechanic's liens against government property. But this concept takes on different shades of meaning in different ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Marguerita is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor ...