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Real Estate Professionals

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Mechanic's Notice and Lien Registry

Real Estate Professional Information

Changes to Iowa mechanic's lien law

Iowa Code chapter 572 now contains a notice requirement for residential construction projects. You should review the law and consult with an attorney to determine if you should be utilizing the MNLR system. A general contractor or subcontractor may still post a lien on the MNLR within 90 days of supplying labor or materials to a residential construction project. However, in order to have a valid lien, the notice must have been posted in accordance with the requirements under Iowa Code chapter 572.

What this means for real estate professionals

Real estate professionals should check the MNLR prior to closing to be sure that lien waivers have been collected. To view a project record, select “Search” from the MNLR homepage, or the link above. Once in the search screen you may search by a number of fields including owner name, general contractor name, MNLR number, property address, legal description, and tax parcel identification number. Once the appropriate property has been selected a results summary page will provide a complete listing of all the notices and liens that have been posted for the project. By selecting the tab at the top of the results summary page, entitled “General Contractors/Subcontractors” the names and addresses of persons or businesses who have posted notices or liens will be shown. Corresponding waivers or releases that have been posted to the MNLR will also be listed. This particular section of the MNLR assists real estate professionals when gathering the necessary documentation for closings and distribution of funds.

Information obtained from search results

The search summary page provides a variety of information about a specific residential construction project in a single location. Owner name, general contractor name, MNLR number, property address, legal description, or tax parcel identification number are all contained within each project record. In addition, contractor and subcontractor activity is clearly shown. Each project record summary page may assist a real estate professional by providing information necessary to protect the parties in a residential construction transaction.

The information contained on this page applies to residential construction projects.

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