Protecting Your Purchase Money Lien Rights
Recently, our firm had the pleasure of handling a file which involved the potential creation of a purchase money lien on personal property. Our client sold a business and took back a lien on the personal property of the business. The lien was to secure the payment of a note. The new business owner was going to pay our client over time for purchasing the business. In addition to the lien by the seller on the buyer’s property, the buyer also obtained an Small Business Administration (SBA) loan to purchase the business. Our client originally thought that he held a first mortgage as a result of his purchase money lien on the sale. In fact, the statutory procedures for the creation of a purchase money security interest were not followed, and as a result, the client holds a second mortgage on the personal property second to the SBA.