You want to sell your house, but there's a problem — something is wrong with the title. Maybe it's a lien you didn't know about. Maybe it's a Medicaid claim from when your parent was in a nursing home. Maybe someone died and the deed was never properly transferred. Whatever it is, you've been told the house "can't be sold" until it's resolved.
Here's what most people don't know: almost every title issue can be resolved. It just takes someone who knows how to do it. That's what I do.
I'm Preston Hillard. I buy houses in Southwest Ohio and I'm a licensed real estate agent. But what sets me apart from other buyers and agents is that I specialize in what's called "curative title work" — the process of clearing liens, resolving title clouds, and making a property sellable when everyone else has given up.
This guide explains the most common types of liens and title issues in Ohio, how they affect your ability to sell, and what can actually be done about them.
What Is a Lien, and Why Does It Matter?
A lien is a legal claim against your property. It means someone — the government, a creditor, a contractor, or a healthcare provider — has a right to be paid from the proceeds when the property sells. You can think of it as a financial hold on your house.
Liens matter because they have to be satisfied (paid off) before or at the time of sale. A title company won't issue title insurance — and a buyer can't get a clean deed — until all liens are resolved. This is why deals fall apart: the title search reveals a lien nobody knew about, and nobody knows how to clear it.
The good news is that liens are not permanent. They can be paid off, negotiated down, challenged, or in some cases, they expire. The key is knowing which type of lien you're dealing with and what your options are.
Types of Liens You'll Encounter in Ohio
Tax Liens
What it is: The county places a lien on your property when property taxes go unpaid. In Ohio, the county can also sell a tax lien certificate to a private investor, and eventually file a tax foreclosure to take the property.
How common: Very common. I see tax-delinquent properties in every county I work in — Montgomery, Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Greene, Clark, and Clermont.
How to resolve: Pay the back taxes. If you can't pay the full amount, most Ohio counties offer payment plans. The county treasurer's office handles this. If a tax foreclosure has been filed, you may need to work with the county prosecutor to set up a payment arrangement before the deadline.
What I do: I factor delinquent taxes into my offer. At closing, the back taxes get paid from the sale proceeds. You don't need to come up with the money yourself. If the tax amount is large, I negotiate with the county or work out a closing structure that handles it.
Medicaid Liens (MERP — Medicaid Estate Recovery Program)
What it is: When someone receives Medicaid-funded long-term care (nursing home, assisted living), the state of Ohio has the right to recover those costs from the person's estate after death. This is called the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP). The state files a lien against real property owned by the Medicaid recipient.
How common: Extremely common, especially on probate and inherited properties. The average Medicaid lien I see is $40,000-$150,000, though I've seen them exceed $300,000.
How to resolve: This is where it gets nuanced. Ohio law provides several exemptions and protections:
- MERP recovery is waived if a surviving spouse occupies the property
- MERP can be deferred if a disabled child or a child who was a caretaker lives in the home
- The estate can request a hardship waiver if recovery would cause "undue hardship"
- MERP can only recover from the probate estate — if the property was held in a trust or had a TOD deed, MERP generally cannot attach to it (though this is complex and depends on timing)
- The lien amount can sometimes be negotiated down, especially when the property value is less than the lien amount
What I do: I work with probate attorneys who specialize in MERP defense. We evaluate whether the lien is valid, whether exemptions apply, and whether the amount can be reduced. In many cases, we can significantly reduce or eliminate the MERP claim. This is one of the highest-value things I do for families — most agents and buyers don't even know these options exist.
Judgment Liens
What it is: When someone wins a lawsuit against you (unpaid credit card debt, personal injury, breach of contract), the court issues a judgment. That judgment can be recorded as a lien against your real property. In Ohio, a judgment lien is valid for 5 years and can be renewed for another 5.
How common: Moderately common. I see these frequently on properties owned by people who've gone through financial hardship — medical debt lawsuits, credit card judgments, and vehicle deficiency balances are the most common.
How to resolve: Pay the judgment in full, negotiate a settlement for less than the full amount (creditors often accept 50-70% to get cash now rather than wait), or wait for the lien to expire. In some cases, the judgment can be challenged if there was a defect in the court process.
What I do: I negotiate directly with judgment creditors. Most creditors would rather get 60 cents on the dollar today than wait years to maybe collect the full amount. We handle the satisfaction and release of lien at closing.
Mechanic's Liens (Construction Liens)
What it is: A contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier who wasn't paid for work done on your property can file a mechanic's lien. In Ohio, they have 60 days from the last day of work to file the lien, and must file a lawsuit to enforce it within 6 years.
How common: Less common than tax or judgment liens, but they pop up — especially when homeowners had work done and a dispute arose about quality or payment.
How to resolve: Pay the contractor, negotiate a settlement, or challenge the lien if it wasn't properly filed (there are strict procedural requirements in Ohio — many mechanic's liens are invalid due to filing errors).
What I do: I review the lien for technical compliance — many mechanic's liens have defects that make them unenforceable. If the lien is valid, I negotiate with the contractor. Either way, we resolve it before closing.
IRS and State Tax Liens
What it is: The IRS or Ohio Department of Taxation can place a lien on your property for unpaid income taxes. Federal tax liens are particularly aggressive — they attach to everything you own.
How to resolve: The IRS has a process for subordinating or discharging liens to allow property sales. You apply through IRS Form 14135. The IRS generally cooperates if the sale proceeds are used to pay down the tax debt. The Ohio Department of Taxation has a similar process.
What I do: I've worked with title companies and tax attorneys to navigate the IRS discharge process. It adds time (usually 30-60 days for IRS approval), but it's absolutely doable.
Have a Lien or Title Issue on Your Property?
I handle these situations every week. Most buyers walk away from title problems — I solve them. Call me and describe your situation. I've probably seen it before.
Get My Cash Offer (937) 907-1743Title Issues Beyond Liens
Not all title problems are liens. Some are what we call "title clouds" — issues that create uncertainty about who actually owns the property. These are just as problematic as liens because a title company won't insure a clouded title, and no buyer can get a mortgage on a property without title insurance.
Death Without Probate
This is one of the most common title issues I see in Southwest Ohio. Someone passes away and the deed is still in their name. Nobody opened probate, nobody transferred the property, and now — 5, 10, 20 years later — someone wants to sell. But you can't sell a house that's still in a dead person's name.
The fix usually involves opening a late probate, filing a transfer-on-death affidavit (if one existed), or in some cases, filing a quiet title action. If this is your situation, my guide on selling a house in probate in Ohio covers the process.
Missing Heirs
When someone dies intestate (without a will), Ohio law determines who inherits. If an heir can't be located — they moved, changed their name, or nobody has contact information — the title can't be cleared until all heirs are accounted for. This requires skip tracing, legal notices, and sometimes a court hearing.
Deed Errors
You'd be surprised how often deeds have errors — misspelled names, wrong legal descriptions, missing signatures, or incorrect notarization. These errors create a break in the "chain of title" that has to be fixed before the property can be sold. The fix is usually a corrective deed, which requires the cooperation of the original parties (or their heirs).
Boundary Disputes and Encroachments
A neighbor's fence is on your property, or your garage sits partly on the neighbor's lot. These encroachments show up on a survey and can block a sale. Resolving them may require a boundary line agreement, an easement, or in worst cases, litigation.
Unreleased Mortgages
Sometimes a mortgage gets paid off but the lender never files a release with the county recorder. The title search still shows an active mortgage. The fix is getting the lender (or their successor, since banks merge and close all the time) to issue a satisfaction of mortgage. For old mortgages from defunct lenders, this can be a real headache — but it's solvable.
What Is Curative Title Work?
"Curative title work" is the umbrella term for all the work required to clear a title and make a property sellable. It's detective work, legal work, and negotiation rolled into one.
Here's what it typically involves:
- Title search: Pull the full chain of title from the county recorder's office. Identify every lien, judgment, mortgage, and recorded document affecting the property.
- Identify issues: Determine what's blocking a clean transfer. This could be liens, missing probate, deed errors, unreleased mortgages, or any combination.
- Research and outreach: Contact lien holders, locate heirs, obtain documents from courts and county offices, and gather everything needed to clear each issue.
- Negotiate and resolve: Negotiate lien reductions, prepare corrective deeds, file probate if needed, and work with attorneys to resolve complex title clouds.
- Confirm clean title: Work with the title company to confirm all issues are resolved and title insurance can be issued.
This process can take anywhere from a few days (for a simple lien payoff) to several months (for complex probate or MERP cases). Most real estate agents and most cash buyers don't do this work — they see a title issue and walk away. That's exactly why I focus on it. It's where I can add the most value and solve problems that other people can't.
Why Other Buyers Walk Away from Title Issues
Most "we buy houses" companies and even most real estate agents operate on a simple model: find a house, check the title, make an offer, close. If the title check reveals problems, they move on to the next house. It's easier and faster.
That leaves homeowners with title issues stuck. They can't sell on the open market because no buyer will close with a clouded title. They can't sell to a cash buyer because most cash buyers won't touch it. And they usually can't fix the title issues themselves because they don't know how.
I do things differently because title issues are where the best opportunities are — for both me and the seller. The seller gets a solution to a problem that's been holding them back, sometimes for years. And I get to buy a property that nobody else will touch, which means less competition.
Been Told Your House "Can't Be Sold"?
I hear that all the time — and it's almost never true. Liens, title clouds, missing probate, deed errors — I've resolved them all. Let's talk about your situation and figure out a path forward.
Get My Cash Offer (937) 907-1743Real Scenarios I've Handled in Southwest Ohio
Without sharing names or addresses, here are some real types of situations I've worked through:
The Inherited House with a Medicaid Lien
An adult child inherited their mother's house in Montgomery County. Mom had been in a nursing home for several years, and MERP filed a $127,000 lien against the estate. The house was worth about $95,000. The heir thought they had to give the house away for nothing — or just walk away from it entirely.
We worked with a probate attorney to file for a hardship waiver and negotiate the MERP claim down significantly. The heir walked away with cash in hand — something they thought was impossible.
The Vacant House with No Probate
A property in Dayton had been sitting vacant for over three years. The owner passed away, there was no will, and no one had opened probate. Two of the three heirs lived out of state. The third heir was trying to sell but couldn't because the deed was still in the deceased owner's name.
We opened a late probate, coordinated with all three heirs (remote signing for the out-of-state family members), resolved two small judgment liens, and closed the sale. Total time from first call to closing: about 90 days.
The Tax-Delinquent Property with Judgment Liens
A property in Hamilton County owed $18,000 in back taxes and had two judgment liens totaling $34,000. The owner was overwhelmed and didn't think the house was worth enough to cover everything. We negotiated the judgment liens down by about 40%, paid the back taxes from closing proceeds, and the seller walked away with money in their pocket.
How to Find Out What Liens Are on Your Property
If you're not sure whether your property has liens, here's how to check:
- County Recorder's office: Search recorded documents — mortgages, liens, judgments, releases. Most Ohio counties have online search tools.
- County Auditor's office: Check property tax status. The auditor's website will show current and delinquent taxes.
- County Clerk of Courts: Search for court judgments that may have been filed as liens.
- Order a title search: A title company can run a full search for about $150-$300. This is the most thorough way to uncover everything.
Or you can just call me at (937) 907-1743. I'll pull the records and tell you exactly what's there — no charge. If there's a path to sell the property, I'll lay it out for you.
Common Questions About Selling with Liens
Can I sell a house with a lien on it?
Yes — but the lien has to be resolved at or before closing. In most cases, the lien is paid from the sale proceeds, so you don't need to come up with the money beforehand.
What if the liens are more than the house is worth?
This happens more often than you'd think. In that situation, lien holders can sometimes be negotiated down — especially if the alternative is the property going to tax foreclosure and them getting nothing. A cash buyer with experience in title work can often find a solution.
How long does it take to clear a title issue?
Simple lien payoffs: days. Lien negotiations: 2-4 weeks. Probate: 2-6 months. Complex multi-issue cases: 3-12 months. Every situation is different.
Do I need a lawyer?
For straightforward lien payoffs, probably not. For Medicaid liens, probate issues, or quiet title actions, I strongly recommend working with a real estate or probate attorney. I work with several in the Dayton and Cincinnati area and can connect you with one.
Will a real estate agent help with this?
Most won't. Standard agents are trained to list houses with clean titles. When title issues come up, they usually tell the seller to "get it figured out" and come back when the title is clear. I'm the exception because curative title work is a core part of my business — not an obstacle I try to avoid.
The Bottom Line
If you have a property with liens, title issues, or any kind of cloud on the deed — don't assume it can't be sold. Almost every title problem has a solution. The question is whether you're working with someone who knows how to find it.
I've been doing curative title work across Montgomery County, Hamilton County, and the rest of Southwest Ohio for years. If you're stuck — call me at (937) 907-1743. I'll look at your situation, tell you what's going on with the title, and map out your options. No charge for the conversation, no pressure, and no judgment about how the situation got to where it is.
If you're also dealing with a foreclosure on top of the title issues — that adds urgency, but it doesn't change the fact that there are solutions. Call sooner rather than later.