The lien of judgment binds all property of the debtor for a definite time fixed by statute. In New York this time is ten years. An unsatisfied lien con tinues to attach to the debtor's property after it passes out of his ownership. Hence, when title to property is examined, the public records are searched for judg-. ments against all those appearing in the chain of title. Such a search relates to the names of the owners, not to the property itself.
A sheriff's sale under execution of a judgment is not usually absolute until a definite period after ward. During the interim an owner, or the holder of a junior lien, can redeem the property by payment of the amount for which it was sold, plus interest and costs.
4. How lien of judgment is judgments are obtained which are reversed by appeal to a higher court. For that reason and to lift the judgment from the property it affects as a lien, the law provides in many jurisdictions for the filing of a bond sufficient in amount to secure the judgment. Upon filing such a bond the judgment is marked on the records, "suspended on appeal," or "proceedings stayed." Recourse is thereafter against the bond and the property is free from the lien.
When a judgment is actually paid an instrument known as a "satisfaction of judgment" or "satisfac tion piece" is obtained and filed, and the judgment is marked paid on the records. Sometimes a "release of judgment" is obtained where one or more parcels of property are released from the lien of the judgment by the holder of it.
5. Mechanic's mechanic's lien is a lien upon real property given by statute to mechanics or material men for the price or value of labor or ma terial furnished in the improvement of real property. It is usually founded upon a contract made directly with the owner or a person with whom the owner has contracted for the improvement of his property, or any buildings thereon. It is a specific lien which affects only the property for which the labor or ma terial has been supplied.
A mechanic's lien is asserted by filing a notice or claim of lien in the office of the clerk of the county or in some places, in the office of the registrar of deeds, in which the property is situated. This notice must be made under oath, must be filed within a certain time after the labor has been performed or material fur nished, must describe the property upon which the lien is claimed, and must state specific details of the claim. If the notice is made out or filed incorrectly the lien may expire or be set aside by the court. The lien
attaches when the work is commenced or materials are furnished, but will be lost unless the statutory require ments are followed to keep it alive.
6. Enforcement of mechanic's mechanic's lien is enforced by an action at law as provided by the statutes relating thereto. All holders of me chanic's liens are brought into the action and their rights are adjusted. The lienholder filing the first lien usually has the conduct of the lien proceedings. If they succeed in establishing their claims the owner *must pay the amount due to each, and upon his failure to do so the property is sold to raise the amount due. The court directs the sale and the distribution of any amount paid by the owner or raised thru the sale of the property. The owner can be held for any defi ciency in case the sale does not produce the required amount.
Building contracts usually provide for stated amounts to be paid to the mechanics and material men at certain times during construction, or for the pay ment of a percentage of the value of the work com pleted. If a general contractor fails to pay sub-con tractors or material men the owner can usually be held only for the amount actually due the general contrac tor under the terms of the contract with him. If the owner anticipates payments to his general contractor, he can be held by sub-contractors or material men as tho such payment had not been made. Some statutes provide that the owner must retain a certain percent age of the amount of the contract for the satisfaction of liens.
The filing of mechanic's liens against real estate is usually an indication that the owner or contractor is unable to meet his obligations, and frequently leads to a discontinuance of the work on an improvement in process of construction. By a recent amendment 1 to the Mechanic's Lien Law in New York State, pro vision is made whereby with the approval of the lienors, holding 75 per cent of the amount due, a trust mortgage can be made the benefit of the creditors and additional money can be borrowed on a building loan mortgage for the purpose of completing the im provement. All liens become subordinate to the mortgage securing moneys borrowed with such con sent, and have no priority over each other. The law further provides a means for the sale of such prop erty free from all mechanic's liens and judgments upon dep'osit with the County Clerk of an amount ap proved by the lienors holding the same percentage of the liens.