Blog
Plain-English guidance on environmental liens, AULs, chain of title research, and Phase I ESA due diligence.
Articles
- Former Machine Shops: TCE, Degreasers, and the RecordMetal shops used chlorinated degreasers for decades. What TCE leaves in the land records, and why industrial parcels need a chain of title check.Read article →
- Institutional Control Registries: Two Places to LookMany states publish a registry of sites carrying institutional controls. Why it never replaces the county land record, and how the two lists disagree.Read article →
- Multi-Site Deals: Environmental Lien and AUL Searches at ScaleHow to scope a portfolio records review: reconciling sites to parcels, ordering in one batch, triaging findings, and why county practice sets the pace.Read article →
- Tax-Foreclosed Parcels: Environmental Liens and AUL RecordsWhy a tax sale does not clear the environmental record, where the contaminating use sits in the chain, and which instruments to pull before bidding.Read article →
- Due Diligence Timing: When to Order the Lien and AUL SearchWhere the environmental lien and AUL search belongs in a 30-day diligence period, what can stretch the turnaround, and how to handle a closing that slips.Read article →
- Tenant Due Diligence: Why Leases Need a Lien and AUL SearchTenants can qualify for bona fide prospective purchaser protection, but only by doing their own inquiry. Where the lien and AUL search fits a leasehold.Read article →
- Dry Cleaner Sites: Small Shops, Long PlumesDry cleaner sites pair tiny footprints with long chlorinated solvent plumes. What PCE leaves in the land records, and why retail deals check first.Read article →
- The Lien Search in Your Phase I PracticeHow Phase I ESA firms handle the environmental lien and AUL records review: what E1527-21 expects, why county research is specialized, what to require.Read article →
- Environmental Covenants: How UECA Makes Them StickEnvironmental covenants are how risk-based cleanups bind future owners. How UECA makes them enforceable, and how a records search finds them.Read article →
- Buying a Former Gas Station? Read the Record FirstFormer gas stations carry UST histories: risk-based closures, deed notices, and state cleanup liens. Why the land records check comes first.Read article →
- Environmental Liens: What Lenders Need to KnowCERCLA's secured creditor exemption shields lenders from cleanup liability, not from collateral loss. Where lien and AUL searches fit in a loan file.Read article →
- Does Title Insurance Cover Environmental Liens?A title policy and an environmental lien search do different jobs. Policy exclusions, date-of-policy limits, and what ASTM E1527-21 actually asks for.Read article →
- Brownfield Redevelopment Starts in the Land RecordsBrownfield sites concentrate environmental liens and AULs. How cleanup closures put controls in the land records, and why redevelopment diligence starts there.Read article →
- Why 1980? The Story Behind the Lien Search DateWhy environmental lien and AUL searches start at 1980: CERCLA created modern cleanup liability, and the liens and controls in the land records date from it.Read article →
- Keeping Your BFPP Defense Alive After ClosingCERCLA liability protections come with continuing obligations (AUL compliance, reasonable steps, cooperation), plus the windfall lien, explained.Read article →
- REC, CREC, HREC: What Phase I ESA Findings MeanREC, CREC, and HREC under ASTM E1527-21, explained: how Phase I ESA findings are classified and how the environmental lien and AUL search informs the call.Read article →
- The Search Found an Environmental Lien or AUL: Now What?What to do when a lien and AUL search turns something up: read the instrument, confirm its current status, and weigh the paths deals actually take from there.Read article →
- How an Environmental Lien & AUL Search Is Actually PerformedInside a 1980 environmental lien and AUL search: how certified title abstractors reconstruct the deed chain, review the records, and what the report includes.Read article →
- Superlien States: When an Environmental Lien Beats the MortgageSome states give environmental cleanup liens priority over previously recorded mortgages. What superliens are, where they exist, and how lenders manage the risk.Read article →
- Phase I ESA User Responsibilities: The Lien & AUL SearchASTM E1527-21 assigns key Phase I ESA duties to the user, including the environmental lien and AUL title search. What Section 6 requires and how to comply.Read article →
- When Does a Phase I ESA Expire? The 180-Day Rule ExplainedHow long a Phase I ESA stays valid under ASTM E1527-21: the 180-day presumption, the one-year limit, and the five components that must be updated.Read article →
- Why Add a Chain of Title Search to Your Phase I ESA?How a supplemental chain of title search strengthens a Phase I ESA: past owners reveal past uses and support the historical research ASTM E1527-21 requires.Read article →
- Environmental Liens Explained: Who Files Them and How to Find ThemWhat environmental liens are, who files them, where they're recorded (including judicial records), and how an ASTM E1527-21 title search finds them.Read article →
- What Is an Activity and Use Limitation (AUL)? A Plain-English GuideActivity and Use Limitations (AULs) explained: what they are, common examples, where they're recorded, and how ASTM E1527-21 requires them to be searched.Read article →
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