Missing Lien Releases

I was scouring a search engine for a topic to blog about yesterday, and I was surprised to find that there are a number of patent applications pending for software that would track releases of all types of liens on closings.  I know there are some regional and national companies in place now that are primarily used by title insurance companies to track down releases of various liens after a closing for which the particular title company has issued a title insurance policy.  Missing releases have always been a problem and will delay closings in most circumstances until the lien holder can be tracked down.  Actually some of the most difficult releases to get can be tax lien releases from the IRS.  They always seem to take forever and are the most scarry for an attorney to deal with, but the lien holder is easy to find, it is just a need to be persistent to get the release out of them.

In any event, I do not see the need for fancy software to track releases. It can be done by using a diary system that is standard with any office type software.  The problem is and always has been with computers, when you put junk in you get junk out.  These people who are developing new software still need to rely upon closing agents, attorneys, title companies, etc., to provide information to them.  If they don't get the correct information they may never find an appropriate release.

There are laws, such as here in CT, that requires a lien holder to furnish a release within a certain amount of time after the lien is paid off.  The laws are largely ignored and have no teeth for enforcement.  Having been involved in selling REO propertioes for a few years, the biggest problem I encountered was missing releases.  Buyers' attorneys or title comp[anies will usually insist on some evidence of payment of the old unreleased lien if an actual release cannot be found.  They need to protect themselves, that is understandable.  If only lien hoilders would be more cooperative.