How to check for liens on a property in Oahu, HI
In Oahu (Honolulu County), liens and lis pendens recorded against a property are in the State of Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances index, searched by the owner's name and the property. Each mortgage also needs a recorded satisfaction or release to be off the title. A HeritageDeed report does this for one address in Oahu: $49, usually within minutes, with the source of every finding.
Step by step in Oahu
- 1
Identify the parcel
Find the owner of record and the parcel number in the City and County of Honolulu Real Property Assessment Division records: liens are indexed against the owner's name and the property.
- 2
Search the recorded liens
Search the State of Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances index under the owner's name and the property for liens, lis pendens and other notices.
- 3
Check every mortgage
A mortgage with no recorded satisfaction or release is still a lien of record.
- 4
Or order the report
A HeritageDeed report runs these searches for one Oahu address and lists every finding with its source, $49, usually within minutes.
What Oahu records show
Hawaii has two recording systems. In the Regular System a document is recorded and indexed by the parties' names and the TMK. In the Land Court system (registered land) title is held by a certificate of title and documents are registered against it; the Bureau keeps both and a parcel's report says which applies.
What the report checks in Oahu
- Documents indexed under the owner's name as grantor, for loans and liens not indexed to the parcel
- Federal court records matched to the owner
Questions
What does a HeritageDeed search in Oahu not cover?
The Bureau's online index covers documents recorded from 1976; earlier instruments are not searched.
Is this title insurance?
No. It is a search of the public record for one Oahu property. A lender closing a loan will still require a title insurance commitment from a licensed insurer.
More about Oahu property records
Check the title of a Oahu property
AI title search, $49 per report. Usually ready in about a minute. Full refund if we can't deliver.