Lien Discovery Skill

Lien Discovery Skill

Analyzes recorded liens to determine priority positions and detect critical scenarios like HOA foreclosures.

When to Use This Skill

• Stage 4 of Everest Ascent pipeline
• Determining what buyer inherits at auction
• Detecting HOA foreclosure scenarios
• Building lien satisfaction calculations

Critical Concept: Lien Priority

First Position Lien: Foreclosure wipes out junior liens HOA Foreclosure: Senior mortgage SURVIVES (buyer inherits it)

This is THE most critical determination in auction analysis.

Data Sources

AcclaimWeb (Brevard County Official Records)

• Search by: Case number, parcel ID, address
• Returns: Mortgages, liens, satisfactions, assignments
• Anti-detection: Randomized delays, user-agent rotation
• Parse: PDF documents for amounts, dates, parties

RealTDM (Tax Certificates)

• Search by: Parcel ID
• Returns: Outstanding tax certificates, amounts, holders
• Priority: Tax liens are senior to ALL other liens

12 Regex Patterns (BECA Scraper V2.0)

1. Mortgage Amount: \$([0-9,]+\.\d{2})
2. Recording Date: (\d{1,2}/\d{1,2}/\d{4})
3. Book/Page: Book (\d+) Page (\d+)
4. Instrument Number: Instrument# (\d+)
5. Mortgagor/Mortgagee: Named entity extraction
6. Satisfaction: "Satisfied", "Released", "Paid in Full"
7. Assignment: "Assigned to", "Transferred to"
8. HOA Lien: "Homeowners Association", "HOA", "Condominium Association"
9. Tax Lien: "Tax Certificate", "Tax Deed"
10. Judgment Lien: "Judgment", "Lis Pendens"
11. Mechanic's Lien: "Construction", "Contractor"
12. IRS Lien: "Internal Revenue Service", "Federal Tax Lien"

Lien Priority Rules (Florida)

Priority Order:

1. Tax liens (always senior)
2. Special assessment liens
3. First recorded mortgage
4. Second recorded mortgage
5. HOA liens (SUBORDINATE to mortgages in most cases)
6. Judgment liens
7. Mechanic's liens

Exception: HOA foreclosure on assessment lien

HOA Foreclosure Detection

Red Flags:

• Plaintiff is "Homeowners Association" or "Condominium Association"
• Lien is for assessments/dues (not mortgage)
• Senior mortgage exists and was NOT joined in suit

Action:

if (plaintiff_is_hoa AND senior_mortgage_exists):
    decision = "DO_NOT_BID"
    reason = "HOA foreclosure - senior mortgage survives"

Output Format

{
  "lien_analysis": {
    "total_liens": 3,
    "liens": [
      {
        "position": "1st",
        "type": "mortgage",
        "amount": 250000,
        "holder": "Wells Fargo Bank",
        "recording_date": "2018-03-15",
        "instrument": "2018012345",
        "status": "active"
      },
      {
        "position": "2nd", 
        "type": "hoa_assessment",
        "amount": 15000,
        "holder": "Satellite Beach HOA",
        "recording_date": "2023-06-01",
        "status": "foreclosing"
      },
      {
        "position": "tax",
        "type": "tax_certificate",
        "amount": 8500,
        "holder": "Brevard County Tax Collector",
        "status": "active"
      }
    ],
    "foreclosure_type": "hoa",
    "senior_mortgage_survives": true,
    "buyer_inherits": [
      "Wells Fargo 1st mortgage ($250K)",
      "Tax certificate ($8.5K)"
    ],
    "recommendation": "DO_NOT_BID"
  }
}

Search Process

Step 1: AcclaimWeb Search

Search by case number: 2024-CA-001234
→ Returns: Lis pendens, mortgages, liens
→ Parse each PDF document
→ Extract amounts, dates, parties

Step 2: Cross-Reference Parcel

Get parcel ID from BCPAO
Search AcclaimWeb by parcel
→ Find ALL recorded instruments on property
→ Build complete lien chain

Step 3: RealTDM Tax Search

Search tax certificates by parcel
→ Any outstanding certificates?
→ Add to lien analysis

Step 4: Priority Analysis

Order liens by recording date
Apply Florida priority rules
Identify which liens survive foreclosure
Calculate satisfaction amounts

Example Scenarios

Scenario 1: Clean First Mortgage Foreclosure

Plaintiff: Wells Fargo Bank
Lien Position: 1st mortgage
Junior Liens: 2nd mortgage ($50K), HOA lien ($5K)
→ Result: Junior liens wiped out, buyer gets clean title
→ Decision: Proceed with normal analysis

Scenario 2: HOA Foreclosure (DANGER)

Plaintiff: Palm Bay Homeowners Association  
Lien Position: Assessment lien (subordinate)
Senior Liens: 1st mortgage Wells Fargo ($300K)
→ Result: Buyer inherits $300K mortgage
→ Decision: DO_NOT_BID

Scenario 3: Tax Certificate Foreclosure

Plaintiff: Brevard County Tax Collector
Lien Position: Tax lien (senior to all)
Other Liens: 1st mortgage ($200K), 2nd mortgage ($50K)
→ Result: ALL liens wiped out, clean title
→ Decision: Strong opportunity

Anti-Detection Measures

BECA Scraper V2.0 Features:

• Randomized delays (2-8 seconds between requests)
• User-agent rotation (5 different browsers)
• Session management (new session per search)
• Headless browser mode (Selenium)
• PDF parsing with pdfplumber
• OCR fallback for scanned documents

Integration with Foreclosure Analysis

# Stage 4: Lien Priority Analysis
lien_data = lien_discovery_skill.analyze(case_number, parcel_id)

if lien_data['senior_mortgage_survives']:
    decision = "DO_NOT_BID"
    max_bid = 0
else:
    # Proceed to Stage 5
    continue_pipeline()

Example Usage

"Use lien-discovery-skill to analyze liens for case 2024-CA-001234"

"Search AcclaimWeb and RealTDM for property at 123 Main St Melbourne"

Critical Reminders

1. NO GUESSWORK: Use actual recorded documents only
2. Verify Dates: Recording date determines priority
3. Check Satisfactions: Lien may show but be satisfied
4. HOA = DANGER: Always check if senior mortgage survives
5. Tax Liens Win: Tax certificates are senior to everything