@medicgrrl wrote:
You really need to talk with a real estate attorney. This is going to become a lien against your property and I don't think the lender will close the loan.
I'm not an attorney, but as I understand it, in many (most) states, there is a homestead exemption. So if the OP were to get the loan (he will not), no lien can be file against his home if that is his primary residence.
If that is the case, one might ask, why do title companies even bother in cases where they have utter certainty that the borrower has no other real-estate to call a primary residence? The answers might be:
- If a mistake is made, where the borrower does have another home, it is a super expensive mistake, as the lienholder will "cloud" the title of the home so that it cannot be sold, and if it is, lienholder will take payment from proceeds.
- If the borrower decides to take an "extended vacaction" someplace else, and buys another piece of property, and starts living there, the creditor could assert that the debtor is living in a new homestead, and therefore, the claim to old homestead exemption is invalid.
Given that the OP's judgement is from 2012, the judgement is still enforceable (< 10 years).
The collection agency might not check your credit report, OP, so you want to play it cool when you negotiate. If you tell them that you are getting a mortgage, they will try to nail you to the wall. Get a friend if you do not feel comfortable doing it cold turkey.
