General and specific liens and lien priority

Classify the lien before ranking it

A lien is a claim against property securing payment of an obligation. General versus specific describes the property reached; voluntary versus involuntary describes how the lien arises. A general lien reaches a debtor's property within its legal scope, subject to exemptions and attachment requirements. A judgment lien is a standard general-lien example. A specific lien burdens identified property: a mortgage, a real property tax lien, or a construction lien on the improved parcel.

A mortgage given by an owner is voluntary and specific. Real property tax and construction liens are involuntary and specific. A judgment lien is involuntary and general. General does not mean superior, and specific does not mean voluntary.

Determine priority separately

Priority establishes which competing claim is paid first from the same property. Earlier recording ordinarily gives a mortgage priority over later mortgages, assuming valid liens and no special priority rule. A subordination agreement can move a lien behind another. Real property tax liens generally have superior priority; this does not mean every lien involving a tax has the same rank. Federal tax lien priority requires its own analysis. Treat the ordinary recording rule as a starting point: statutory exceptions, notice, exemptions, and valid agreements can change the result.

Florida Statutes section 695.01 protects creditors and subsequent purchasers for value without notice against covered unrecorded instruments. An unrecorded mortgage is not necessarily invalid between its original parties.

Florida construction liens

Under section 713.07, liens under sections 713.05 and 713.06 take priority from recording the notice of commencement. If none is filed, priority begins when the claim of lien is recorded. By contrast, liens under sections 713.03 and 713.04 take priority when their claims are recorded. Do not use the first day of physical work as a universal Florida priority date. Recording the claim still matters: section 713.05 requires it to acquire the lien, even where priority relates back to the notice of commencement.

Two independent classifications precede a priority timeline. General and specific describe scope; voluntary and involuntary describe origin. On the Florida timeline, a mortgage recorded in January ranks first. A notice of commencement recorded in February gives a qualifying section 713.05 construction lien second priority, even though its claim is recorded in April. A second mortgage recorded in March ranks third. This example assumes valid liens, an applicable notice, and no other priority exception. — A later construction claim can have an earlier priority date.

For example, a mortgage recorded in January precedes a notice of commencement recorded in February. Another mortgage is recorded in March. A qualifying section 713.05 construction claim is recorded in April. Assuming a valid, applicable notice and no other priority exception, the January mortgage ranks first, the construction lien second, and the March mortgage third. Section 713.07 also protects the earlier recorded encumbrance's proceeds regardless of when disbursed.

Resolve the right claim

A release addresses the lien; subordination addresses its rank. Under Florida section 713.24, a construction lien can be transferred from the real estate to qualifying cash or bond security. Filing the certificate releases the parcel from that lien while the claim follows the security. Under section 713.901, federal lien notices affecting Florida real property are filed with the circuit court clerk in the property's county, or the legally designated county recorder.