Lis pendens: what a notice of pending lawsuit means for a property, and how investors find them
- Where it is recorded
- The county’s official records
- What it warns
- Interests taken during the suit follow its outcome
- Florida’s time limit
- 1 year, unless based on a recorded mortgage
- Cost to search
- Free where the county puts its records online
Finding lis pendens filings in the county records
-
Open the county recorder’s search
Lis pendens notices are recorded with the other land records in the county where the property sits. Find the recorder’s or clerk’s official records search on the county’s own site.
What you come away withThe search that holds every recorded notice.
-
Search by document type and date
Choose the document type for a lis pendens (the name varies: “LP”, “notice of lis pendens”) and a recent date range, for example the last 30 days. Each result names the parties, which in a foreclosure are the lender and the owner.
What you come away withA list of recent notices, with the owners named.
-
Separate foreclosures from other suits
Not every lis pendens is a foreclosure: divorces, partition suits and contract disputes over a property can record one too. The plaintiff is the first clue: a bank or mortgage servicer suing points to a foreclosure. Open the case number in the court’s docket to confirm.
What you come away withThe foreclosure cases, set apart.
-
Match each to the property and the owner
Take the parcel or address from the notice to the assessor’s site for the owner’s mailing address, then reach the owner by letter or phone. The pre-foreclosure guide covers what to say to an owner in default.
What you come away withAn owner you can reach early in the foreclosure.
What a lis pendens means if you are buying
It is a warning, not a lien. The notice tells the world that a lawsuit may change who owns the property or what claims sit on it, and that anyone acquiring an interest while it runs takes it subject to the result (Cornell’s legal encyclopedia, Wex). A title company will see it and raise it.
Florida shows how the rules work in one state. There, a lawsuit affects third parties only once a notice is recorded in the county’s official records, and the notice expires one year after the action starts unless it rests on a recorded instrument, such as a mortgage being foreclosed, or a court extends it (Fla. Stat. 48.23). Other states set their own rules: read yours.
Where the free search stops
Only some foreclosures record one. A lis pendens comes with a lawsuit, so it marks foreclosures that go through the courts. Where lenders foreclose without a lawsuit, under a power of sale, the first public sign is a notice of default or of sale instead.
It takes time per county. Searching each recorder’s site, sorting the cases and matching owners is manual work you repeat for every county. Paid lists of pre-foreclosures do the collecting for many counties at once.
A notice is not a deal. Owners in a foreclosure may catch up, sell on the open market or let it go to auction. The foreclosure auction guide covers the end of the road.
Lis pendens at a glance
- What it is
- A recorded notice of a pending lawsuit
- Who files it
- The party suing, often a lender
- Effect on a buyer
- Takes subject to the lawsuit’s outcome
- Florida expiry
- 1 year, unless on a recorded mortgage
Cornell LII Wex and Fla. Stat. 48.23, read November 2026.
Lists that collect them for you
Each line comes from the tool’s own pages.
| Tool | Pre-foreclosure data | Price | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
 Propwire |
Pre-foreclosures among its free lead types | Free | Try Propwire free |
 Property |
Foreclosure records, with a coverage table per state | $119 a month | See PropertyRadar pricing |
Paid links. If you subscribe through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes our ranking order.
The pre-foreclosure lead sources page compares the paid lists.
Lis pendens: questions people ask
What is the purpose of a lis pendens?
To put the public on notice that a lawsuit affects the title to a property or claims an interest in it, so anyone who buys or lends during the suit is bound by its outcome.
Is a lis pendens a lien?
No. It is a notice of a pending lawsuit. The lawsuit may lead to a lien or a change of ownership, which is why buyers and title companies take it seriously.
How long after a lis pendens is a foreclosure?
It depends on the state and the court’s calendar. In Florida, a lis pendens based on a recorded mortgage does not expire after the usual one year, so it can run as long as the case.
Can you buy a house with a lis pendens on it?
You can, but you take it subject to the lawsuit’s outcome. Have a title company and an attorney review the case before you close.
How we put this together
- Cornell Law School’s Wex entry on lis pendens, read November 2026
- Florida Statutes section 48.23 (2025), on the Florida Senate’s site, read November 2026
- The pages that rank for “lis pendens” in the US, read November 2026
Florida is the only state whose lis pendens statute we read. Document names and search screens differ by county. Nothing here is legal advice.