Filing a lien release removes the lien claim from the property title. While the statutes don’t specify penalties for failing to remove a lien, a claimant could be liable for general damages.
You can download the free release of lien form from the image shown.
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TEXAS
RELEASE OF LIEN FORM
https://www.TexasEasyLien.com/
Texas Release of Lien Form
Filing a lien release removes the lien claim from the property
title. While the statutes don’t specify penalties for failing to
remove a lien, a claimant could be liable for general damages.
You can download the free release of lien form from the image
shown.
In Texas, a release of lien is filed after the mount claimed in
such lien has been fulfilled. The release can be prepared and filed
by either party, but it must be signed and notarized by the same
person who signed and filed the lien that will be removed. It
should also be filed in the same county property records office
where the lien was originally filed.
What is release of lien?
In Texas, the purpose of a lien release form is to remove a lien
that was previously filed. The laws in Texas, require claimants to
file a lien release within the next 10 days after receiving a
written request. Failure to release a lien could result in
penalties for the lien claimant.
Lien releases are also known as Lien Cancellations or
Satisfaction of Liens. These terms vary from state to state and
some require that the lien holder release the mechanics lien after
the claim has been satisfied upon request, although most of the
lien cancellations are signed by the claimant voluntarily in
exchange for payment.
It is important to clarify, a lien should never be released
until the claim has been paid in full or settled and always making
sure the checks received have been cashed with no holding. If the
claim was only partially paid and the rest is coming under promise,
the release should not be signed, but held until full payment has
been received.
If more than one lien has been filed to the same property and
payment was not received for all of them, the forms should specify
which lien is the only one that will be removed, leaving the other
liens attached to the property.
Is a lien release the same as a lien waiver?
A lien release and a lien waiver are different type of
documents.
In some states lien waivers are also called "waiver and release"
and this document are completely different from a lien release in
Texas.
In a few words, in Texas, a lien release removes or cancels the
validity of a lien that has been filed after a claim has been
paid.
A lien waiver is used to release the property owner or general
contractor from any future lien claims pertaining to the specific
payment addresses in the document.
When should a lien release be filed?
In the case of a lien release, the practical transaction is the
exchange of the outstanding payment for signed lien release. The
problem sometimes faced, is that a claimant wants to be paid before
releasing the lien, whereas the project owners, lenders or general
contractors want the release before the money.
The truth is that the only leverage a contractor has is the lien
itself.
Usually, when mechanic’s liens are filed by attorneys, the
transaction is completed upon trust. The outstanding payment is
sent trusting that the lien release will be signed and sent back
after the check has cleared in the bank. If the payment is made
with cash the lien release can be signed and handed out
immediately.
How should a lien release be filed?
The process for filing a lien release is the same as filing a
lien affidavit. It should include the recording number assigned by
the county when filed, the property location including the county,
the lien claimant's name, company, address and date.
When the debt claimed on the lien is satisfied, the property
owner, original contractor, or any other person making the payment
may request the release. The lien release form can an be prepared
and filed by anyone but it must only be signed and notarized by the
same person that signed the lien.
