How to Sell a House With a Lis Pendens in Florida

A lis pendens on your Florida property is a public declaration that there is active litigation involving your home — and it functions like a stop sign for most buyers and their lenders. Whether it was filed by a foreclosing lender, a contractor asserting a construction lien claim, an HOA pursuing unpaid assessments, or a divorcing spouse protecting their marital interest, a lis pendens clouds the title and freezes out most of the traditional buyer market. FastSellEasy can evaluate your situation and make a cash offer even when a lis pendens is on your title. Call (888) 913-9906 to discuss your property.

What Exactly Does a Lis Pendens Do to Your Florida Home?

The lis pendens notice, governed by Florida Statute § 48.23, serves one primary purpose: constructive notice. When it is recorded in the county official records, it tells the world that anyone who acquires an interest in this property — whether as a buyer, a lender, or a subsequent lien holder — does so with knowledge of the pending lawsuit and takes their interest subject to the outcome of that lawsuit.

This creates a practical problem for anyone trying to sell. A buyer who purchases a home subject to a lis pendens is not buying a clean title — they're buying a title that comes with the legal risk of whatever the court is about to decide. If the lis pendens relates to a foreclosure lawsuit and the lender ultimately wins a final judgment, a buyer who purchased after the lis pendens was recorded would be purchasing property that the lender can still enforce its judgment against. From a lender's perspective, extending mortgage financing to that buyer is nearly impossible — the title insurer cannot provide a clean policy, and the collateral for the loan is legally uncertain.

The practical result: financed buyers — which is roughly 70 to 80 percent of all buyers in a normal market — cannot purchase your home until the lis pendens is removed. That leaves you with a choice between waiting for the litigation to resolve, resolving the underlying dispute yourself to get the lis pendens released, or selling to a cash buyer who is willing to take on the legal risk.

What Are the Most Common Reasons a Lis Pendens Gets Filed in Florida?

Understanding what triggered the lis pendens is essential because it determines what options you have to resolve it and how long it will remain on the title.

Foreclosure. The most common reason for a lis pendens in Florida. When a lender files a foreclosure lawsuit — which is required in Florida because foreclosure is a judicial process — the filing of the lis pendens is the first step. It signals that the lender has sued you and is seeking a final judgment of foreclosure that would ultimately lead to a foreclosure auction. The timeline from lis pendens filing to foreclosure sale in Florida courts varies but typically runs one to two years if contested, longer in some counties. If you're in this situation, our post on foreclosure alternatives in Florida covers your options in detail, and acting fast matters — every month that passes is a month closer to losing the property entirely.

HOA or condo association lawsuits. HOAs and condo associations in Florida can file a lis pendens when suing a homeowner for unpaid assessments, fines, or special assessment fees above certain thresholds. Given Florida's condo special assessment crisis following SB 4-D (requiring structural inspections and reserve funding for buildings over three stories), lis pendens filed in connection with HOA collection actions have become more common in certain markets.

Contractor and construction lien claims. When a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier has not been paid for work on your property and files a claim of lien followed by a lawsuit to foreclose that lien, a lis pendens is part of the process. Construction lien lis pendens are especially common on properties where renovation work was done without full payment being made — often properties sold during estate settlements, divorce, or situations where the original homeowner ran out of funds mid-project.

Divorce proceedings. A divorcing spouse who is not on the deed but has a claim to the marital property may file a lis pendens to prevent the titled spouse from selling the property and dissipating the asset before the court divides marital property. This is a protective measure in contested divorces. If you're selling a home during divorce, our guide to selling a house during divorce in Florida covers how courts and attorneys typically handle this situation.

Title dispute lawsuits. Quiet title actions, boundary disputes, adverse possession claims, and other property-right lawsuits all involve lis pendens filings to protect the plaintiff's interest while the court resolves the underlying question of who owns what.

Can You Remove a Lis Pendens Before Selling?

Sometimes, yes — and doing so typically opens up the full buyer pool, including financed buyers. The method depends on the underlying cause:

For a foreclosure lis pendens: You can stop the foreclosure and get the lis pendens released by bringing the loan current (reinstating the mortgage), refinancing the property to pay off the defaulted loan, or — most relevantly for sellers — selling the property for enough to pay off the loan in full at closing. A cash sale that nets enough to pay off the mortgage balance clears the lis pendens through the closing process. The title company coordinates payoff of the defaulted loan, the lender files a satisfaction of mortgage and a notice of voluntary dismissal in the foreclosure case, and the lis pendens is released. If you're in active foreclosure proceedings, acting before the final judgment is entered is critical — once a judgment is entered and a sale date is set, options narrow significantly. Florida Foreclosure Help provides resources on foreclosure alternatives and short sales if your situation requires legal assistance before or alongside a sale.

For contractor lien lawsuits: Pay the disputed amount (under protest, with the contractor's agreement to release), negotiate a settlement, or contest the lien in court. Contractor lien disputes are sometimes resolvable faster than foreclosure proceedings.

For divorce-related lis pendens: The titled spouse can petition the court to release the lis pendens if both parties agree that the property will be sold as part of the divorce settlement and proceeds will be held in escrow pending the divorce decree.

For commercial properties subject to lis pendens — a more common occurrence in business-related litigation — HENCRE covers Tampa Bay commercial real estate and may be a useful resource for owners of commercial properties facing these title complications.

What Does a Cash Sale Look Like When a Lis Pendens Is on the Property?

A cash buyer who purchases with a lis pendens on the title is making a calculated decision about the litigation risk. The process looks like this:

FastSellEasy reviews the property details, the nature of the lis pendens (who filed it, when, and for what reason), and the outstanding mortgage balance and any other liens. We evaluate the likely range of outcomes in the litigation and what those outcomes mean for the buyer's ownership of the property. We make a written cash offer that reflects the property's value minus the risk premium associated with the pending litigation.

If you accept, closing proceeds in the normal way — typically 14 to 21 days. The title company handles the payoff of any liens that must be cleared as part of the closing (such as a foreclosing mortgage), and the lis pendens associated with those resolved claims is released. For lis pendens associated with claims that are not resolved at closing, the buyer takes the property subject to the outcome of that litigation.

For sellers facing a foreclosure lis pendens specifically, time is genuinely the critical variable. The further the foreclosure proceeding has advanced, the fewer options you have. Call (888) 913-9906 today — even if you're in active foreclosure, even if you're behind on multiple payments, even if the court date is approaching — and we'll tell you honestly what we can do and how fast. Visit our homes page to get started, or call directly for an immediate conversation about your situation.