Levy on Real Estate

LEVY and SUSPEND

Once the Execution on Money Judgment has issued from the court, one options is to obtain the monies owed to plaintiff and to ask the Essex Sheriff’s Department Civil Process Division for a Levy and Suspend. A Levy and Suspend involves recording the Execution on Money Judgment along with a description of the defendant’s real estate. The recording at the Essex County Registry of Deeds places a Levy onto the property to ensure payment of the debt at the time of refinancing or property sale. Once recorded, if you wish to “suspend” further action, the defendant’s real estate will not be subjected to Sheriff’s Sale. An attorney/plaintiff may proceed to Sheriff Sale in the future by notifying the Civil Process Division and requesting the Levy and Suspend to be moved to a levy and sale.

The Levy and Suspend will remain in effect for (6) six years unless a levy brought forward to extend the life of the levy. Please call our office if you have any questions regarding bringing a levy forward.

After the Levy and Suspend is recorded, the Sheriff’s Department mails and/or serves a true copy of the completed levy documents notifying the defendant that a levy has been placed on their property.

In order for the Essex Sheriff’s Department Civil Process Division to place a Levy and Suspend on a property the following documents must be mailed or delivered to our office:

A Cover letter with contact information and request for Levy and Suspend.

Please make sure to specify how you would like the defendant to be notified (service or mailing). Please also note if there are prior attachments on the property and the dates they were recorded.

Original Execution Issued by Court (this will be returned to you after the Levy has been recorded)

Copy of Deed with book and page (Recorded Land) or Certificate Number (Registered Land) and metes and bounds description). Deed copies can be obtained from the Essex County Registry of Deeds in Salem or Lawrence.

You have a prior attachment on the real estate you wish to levy, you must indicate the date of the attachment in your cover letter in order for the Sheriff’s Department to reference the attachment. Requests to levy on a prior attachment must be received within 30 days of the execution’s issue date.

A check made payable to the Registry of Deeds in the amount of $105.00 for the recording fee.

Currently the total cost for a Levy and Suspend on a single defendant (including recording fees and mailing) is $128.00. Notification by deputy service is available for an additional fee.

LEVY and SALE

The process for conducting a Levy and Sale is the same for Levy and Suspend up through the recording of the Levy. Instead of suspending further proceedings after the recording and service to the defendant, a Levy and Sale continues to the Sheriff’s Sale of the real estate listed in the property description. Sheriff’s Sale Notices are drafted and mailed to the defendant by service to the defendant, the attorney/plaintiff requesting the Levy and Sale must indicate the lien holders to notify. Sheriff’s Sale Notices are then posted in the town/city hall where the property lies and in two adjoining towns. The Sheriff’s Sale Notice is advertised in a newspaper that circulates in the same town of the property location for three consecutive weeks no less than twenty one days prior to the sale date. Sheriff’s Sales may be adjourned week-to-week at the request of the attorney/plaintiff or with good cause by the Essex Sheriff Department Civil Process Division. Sheriff’s Sales may be canceled, but in the event of the actual sale the successful bidder purchases the real estate subject to any and all prior encumbrances and must make payment in full to the Essex County Sheriff’s Department within a specific amount of time. When the full payment is received a Sheriff’s Deed is produced for the successful bidder to record and a Sheriff’s Return details all pertinent information and dates leading up to the Sheriff’s Sale.

The costs and fees associates with the Sheriff’s Sale are incorporated into the sale total.

DISCHARGING A LEVY ON REAL ESTATE

If you have previously placed a Levy on Real Estate and now wish to have it removed, our office can assist you with a discharge of levy. In order to discharge a levy please fax or email a request for discharge to the Essex Sheriff’s Department, Civil Process Division. Please include the date the levy was recorded, the book and page number that levy was recorded at, attorney/plaintiff and defendant names, the court issuing the execution, and docket number of the case. This information can be found on the invoice and documents returned to you by our office after recording the original levy.

The total cost for a discharge of levy including sheriff’s feed and registry recording fees is $130.00 for unregistered land and $130.00 for recorded land (Land Court)