Under Minnesota law, work completed after a mortgage is granted and recorded can, in some situations, nonetheless give rise to a mechanic’s lien that has higher priority than the mortgage. If, before the mortgage was granted, any contractor completed “actual and visible” work on the land in connection with the same improvement, then the later work, even if completed by a different contractor, relates back to that earlier work and the associated lien is superior to the mortgage interest. This potential to create a lien with a higher priority than a mortgage is important because it allows the contractor to recover a greater share of the value of its work upon foreclosure when the total encumbrances exceed the value of the property.
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