First Lien
A first lien refers to a legal claim or hold on property, giving the holder the right to seize or use assets in case of non-payment, and it has priority over all other claims.
Lien, judgment-lien, tax-lien, and priority concepts that rank property-finance claims.
Lien and Priority Basics covers first, second, junior, senior, subordinate, lien, release, and subordination terms that rank property-backed claims.
Use these pages when claim priority affects lender recovery, refinancing, foreclosure proceeds, title clearance, or collateral risk. It sits inside Mortgage Priority, so readers can move up when the broader property-finance context matters.
Use the table below to choose the narrower mortgage or real-estate finance branch before applying a term to a loan file, closing record, servicing review, investor report, appraisal, or valuation model. Move into the term page when the document, calculation, party role, lien position, or property cash flow matters.
| Area | Use it for |
|---|---|
| First Lien | A first lien refers to a legal claim or hold on property, giving the holder the right to seize or use assets in case of non-payment, and it has priority over all other claims. |
| First Lien Debt | First Lien Debt is the debt that is secured by a property and recorded first in the public records, giving it priority over all other debts in the event of default. |
| Judgment Lien | A Judgment Lien is a legal tool that creditors use to secure their interest in a debtor’s property when the debtor fails to meet their payment obligations. |
| Lien | A lien is the legal right or interest that a creditor has in the debtor’s property, granted for the purpose of securing the payment of a debt. |
| Lien Priority | Lien Priority determines the order in which creditors are paid during a foreclosure process. Primary mortgages typically take precedence over secondary liens. |
| Mortgage Lien | A Mortgage Lien is a legal claim or encumbrance on a property that is used to secure a loan or mortgage. |
| Tax Lien | A tax lien is a legal claim imposed by a government entity against the assets of an individual or business owing unpaid taxes. |
Mortgage-priority content is educational and does not provide legal, title, lending, tax, or foreclosure advice.
Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.
A first lien refers to a legal claim or hold on property, giving the holder the right to seize or use assets in case of non-payment, and it has priority over all other claims.
First Lien Debt is the debt that is secured by a property and recorded first in the public records, giving it priority over all other debts in the event of default.
A Judgment Lien is a legal tool that creditors use to secure their interest in a debtor's property when the debtor fails to meet their payment obligations.
A lien is the legal right or interest that a creditor has in the debtor's property, granted for the purpose of securing the payment of a debt.
Lien Priority determines the order in which creditors are paid during a foreclosure process. Primary mortgages typically take precedence over secondary liens.
A Mortgage Lien is a legal claim or encumbrance on a property that is used to secure a loan or mortgage.
A tax lien is a legal claim imposed by a government entity against the assets of an individual or business owing unpaid taxes.