Stage 6 — Lien Search

Goal

Determine every active encumbrance affecting the property by resolving the current status of mortgages, liens, easements, restrictions and related legal interests.

Output: Active Encumbrance Profile.

Scope

This stage is responsible for:

• Active lien identification
• Encumbrance status resolution
• Priority determination
• Expiration checks
• Exception candidate generation
• Property graph enrichment

This stage does not:

• Perform final legal review
• Decide insurability
• Generate the title commitment

Input

• Property Knowledge Graph
• Ownership Chain
• Mortgage Chain
• Timeline
• Current Property State

Processing Pipeline

Property Knowledge Graph
        │
        ▼
Encumbrance Resolver
        │
        ▼
Status Resolution
        │
        ▼
Priority Resolution
        │
        ▼
Expiration Checks
        │
        ▼
Exception Candidate Builder
        │
        ▼
Active Encumbrance Profile

Supported Encumbrances

• Mortgage
• HELOC
• Tax Liens
• IRS Liens
• Judgment Liens
• Mechanic Liens
• HOA Liens
• Easements
• Restrictions
• Utility Easements
• Access Easements
• Mineral Rights
• UCC (where applicable)

Status Resolution

Determine the current state of every encumbrance.

Possible statuses:

• Active
• Released
• Expired
• Satisfied
• Pending
• Unknown

Status is computed from available evidence only.

Priority Resolution

Determine execution and recording priority.

Consider:

• Recording dates
• Assignments
• Releases
• Subordination agreements
• Refinancing events

Flag uncertainty where priority cannot be confidently determined.

Expiration Logic

Apply lifecycle rules where applicable.

Examples:

• Judgment liens
• UCC filings
• Notices

Permanent encumbrances such as easements and restrictions remain active unless evidence indicates otherwise.

Cross-document Validation

Detect inconsistencies.

Examples:

• Mortgage without release
• Release referencing unknown mortgage
• Assignment without originating mortgage
• Conflicting recording information
• Duplicate encumbrances

Exception Candidates

Generate a preliminary list of items that may become Schedule B exceptions.

No legal decision is made in this stage.

Structured Output

Each encumbrance should contain:

• Type
• Status
• Priority
• Effective Date
• Termination Date
• Related Documents
• Related Parties
• Confidence Score
• Validation Flags

Graph Updates

Enrich the Property Knowledge Graph with:

• Current status
• Priority
• Current holder (where applicable)
• Supporting evidence

Edge Cases

• Missing releases
• Unknown holders
• Conflicting priorities
• Multiple assignments
• Duplicate liens
• Incorrect references
• Expired but unreleased documents
• Ambiguous encumbrance status

Human Involvement

Minimal.

Manual review is required only for unresolved conflicts, unknown statuses and ambiguous priorities.

Expected automation: 85–95%.

Definition of Done

• Every encumbrance identified.
• Status computed.
• Priority determined where possible.
• Supporting documents linked.
• Historical and active encumbrances separated.
• Exception candidates generated.
• Property graph updated.
• Ready for Stage 7 (Legal Review & Risk Analysis).