Common Law Liens

"Common Law Lien in Law, supersede mortgages and equity liens", Drummond Carriage Co. v. Mills, (1878). A common law lien is placed on property over which the lienor has lawful possession. A common law lien secures the lienors interest in his own property. The common law lien provides a lawful method of ensuring that your equity is protected. You can lien your own property, establishing a claim against your interest in the property. There are three elements that determine the amount of your common law lien: equity, improvements and life experience. Do not make up figures for your lien. The common law lien is a tool to ensure justice. It is designed to secure your interest in your own property. The common law lien must be filed before the foreclosure but once it is filed, the lender MUST pay you the amount of the lien, before it can foreclose or sell the house. The lien is a calculation of three things: 1- principal equity, 2-principal improvements equity, 3-"life experience"... 1. Principal Equity Equity means the actual amount of principal (not interest) you have paid for the property. Calculate the exact amounts of ALL principal payments you have made on your mortgage. Make sure NOT to include interest payments, this is ONLY for principal payments. DO HONEST; you must be able to back up this information. 2. Principal Improvements Calculate the exact amounts of ALL improvements you made to increase the VALUE of the property including outside on the land. Make sure to only apply principal amounts you paid and NOT interest. General maintenance and repairs cannot be considered as improvements. Improvements are the actual amount of principal (not interest) you have paid for improvements to the property. Improvements are those expenses that increase the value of the land or property. 3. Life Experience Calculate the VALUE you have invested in time spent in the home. Consider the meaningful events you experienced while living in the home. During your living experience in the home did you cry, laugh, work, dance, sing, fall in love, etc. You have essentially become attached to the property and owed for time spent. Under common law, life experience has value. The idea is that you have lived, worked, played, laughed, cried, in other words, you have put yourself into the property, and the property owes you as a result. I know of no formula for life experience; I use Three Thousand ($3,000) dollars a year (or $250 dollars a month), which I believe to be a very low figure and therefore uncontestable. The amount of your common law lien is the total of your equity, improvements and life experience. However, under no circumstances should the total amount of your lien exceed the general market value of the liened property, because that would call undue attention to the property, possibly infringe on your privacy, and might result in a legal challenge to your lien. A Mechanics lien is always the first lien to be paid. Common law liens are the second lien paid, should the property be sold, transferred, or otherwise liquidated.