In one sentence
A recorded notice that litigation affecting a property's title is pending, warning potential buyers and lenders of the dispute.
The longer version
A lis pendens puts the world on notice that a lawsuit could affect title to a property. Recorded in the land records, it clouds title and typically must be resolved before a clean transaction can close.
Lenders and title companies search for lis pendens in diligence, because an unresolved one can block insurable title.
Common questions
- What is a lis pendens?
- A recorded notice that a lawsuit affecting title to a property is pending, putting buyers and lenders on notice of the dispute.
- Why does a lis pendens matter to a lender?
- Because anyone acquiring an interest after it records takes subject to the outcome of the litigation. Title companies generally will not insure over it without resolution.
- How is a lis pendens removed?
- By resolution of the lawsuit, a court order expunging it, or a release by the party who recorded it.
Keep reading