12. What is lien?

A lien is a legal claim for the satisfaction of a duty or debt upon real estate property. The first legal claim by law is for a duty is to pay real estate taxes.  Liens upon a property are established by law. Government liens are ahead of privates liens for repayment. A tax lien has first priority for payment in a tax sale.The first private lien is a mortgage. The order of liens refers to the priority of repayment upon sale of a property. Lien priority or rank of a lien is established by law. The process and procedure to sale a property to satisfy a lien is established by law.