An owner wants to remove a $60,000 mechanics' lien recorded against the property so the property can be sold or refinanced. Under Civil Code §8424, the owner may obtain a release of the lien by recording a lien release bond in the amount of:

Explanation

§8424(b) fixes the bond at 125 percent of the claim of lien — or 125 percent of the amount the claim allocates to the property being released — and requires it to be executed by an admitted surety insurer. On recordation the real property is released from the lien and from any action to enforce it, and the 25 percent margin is there to cover the interest and costs the claimant may recover. The party who records the bond must give the claimant notice with a copy of it, and the claimant then has six months from that notice to sue on the bond, which is a different clock from the 90 days §8460 allows for suing on the lien itself. So (d) is 25 points short, (b) invents a discount for a disputed lien, and (a) is wrong twice over: cash is not required and a surety bond is exactly what the section calls for.