Sell Your House Fast During Lis Pendens

Yes, you can sell a house with a lis pendens on it in Florida, but a financed buyer usually can't close until the notice is gone. A lis pendens is a notice recorded in the county's official records that a lawsuit affecting the property is pending. Under Florida Statute 48.23(1)(a), a lawsuit only operates as a lis pendens once that notice is recorded, and it stays effective until it expires, is withdrawn or is discharged. Most lenders will not finance a purchase and most title companies will not insure one while it stands, and some will issue a policy only if money is held in escrow for the pending claim. That leaves buyers who need neither a mortgage nor a lender's title policy.

How long does it last? It depends on what the lawsuit is about. Under 48.23(2), a notice expires one year after the action begins unless the court extends it for good cause. That one-year limit does not apply when the relief sought is founded on a duly recorded instrument, which is the case in a mortgage foreclosure, or on a construction lien under part I of Chapter 713. A foreclosure lis pendens therefore stays on the record while the case runs, and the time an appeal is pending doesn't count toward the year. If you were counting on a notice to lapse after twelve months, check which kind of case it is before you plan around it.

Why was it filed? In Florida the most common source is a lender's attorney recording one when the foreclosure complaint is filed, which is why our pre-foreclosure guide describes the notice as the moment a foreclosure case actually exists. Contractors who file a construction lien suit, a co-owner or former spouse claiming an interest in the property, an heir contesting an estate, and a buyer suing for specific performance all use the same notice. The paperwork looks identical; the way out is not. Our foreclosure guide covers the lender's case, and pending lawsuit covers litigation over the property that isn't a foreclosure.

Here is what a cash close can and cannot do. When the notice rests on a debt, such as a mortgage in foreclosure or a contractor's lien suit, the amount owed can be paid off at closing, out of the sale proceeds, through the title company. The claim is satisfied, the plaintiff releases or dismisses, and the notice comes off the record. No buyer's lender has to approve anything, and that lender is the party that usually refuses to proceed. When the notice rests on a dispute over who owns the property, paying a sum may not end the case. The court can discharge a notice under 48.23(3) when the pleading does not show the action is founded on a recorded instrument or a Chapter 713 lien, or when the action no longer affects the property, but that is a motion in your lawsuit, and your attorney files it, not us. Where the dispute is between owners, it has to be settled or ruled on first.

Take the notice itself seriously, because it works in both directions. Under 48.23(1)(d), a recorded, unexpired notice bars enforcement against the property of interests and liens that weren't recorded when it was recorded, unless the holder moves to intervene within 30 days. Under 48.23(1)(b), in a case that is not based on a recorded instrument, a buyer for value who acquires an interest while the plaintiff has no recorded, unexpired notice takes it free of the claims made in that case. Read the recorded notice and the complaint, not just a letter about them. The first tells you what the claim is and how much is at stake, and what the property is worth after the payoff decides whether you walk away with money.

Three mistakes cost sellers the most time. Signing a listing agreement and waiting for a financed buyer who then fails underwriting is the most common. Assuming the notice expires on its own is the second, for the reasons above. Ignoring the case itself while the sale is in progress is the third, since a default judgment can end the options a sale would have kept. If you're early enough that no case has been filed yet, see our pre-foreclosure guide, because selling before a notice is recorded avoids every problem on this page.