Finally, the 2012 NFL Football Season is underway. If you’re part of Levelset’s 2012 Fantasy Football team you are certainly aware of this moment, but then again, so is most everyone in the country (at least in my mind, because I’m obsessed). A few months ago I wrote a blog post about what baseball had in common with the mechanics lien process, and now with football season upon us, I thought to make a similar post about football.
You Must Be Reactive And Proactive
In the “How A Mechanics Lien Is A Lot Like Baseball” post, I focused on how the mechanics lien process takes a lot of discipline and upkeep, just like a baseball season. Baseball has over 160 games and a successful season (just like a successful lien policy) requires that you do the right thing often, over and over again. How this relates to your lien policy was explored in the post: Filing A Mechanics Lien Is A Discipline and Not A Knee Jerk Reaction.
As any sports fan knows football is a different animal. There are 16 games in the NFL season and every game counts, a lot.
Of course football teams require discipline throughout the season to ensure consistent performance and success week-by-week, but it’s a different type of consistency and discipline than in the baseball world. But, in watching the New York Giants defensive unit trot out onto the field in the first quarter after a fumble unexpectively required their services, I thought about how football’s offensive and defensive requirements are a lot like a good lien policy, too.
Get free mechanics lien form
We're the mechanics lien experts. We offer forms made by attorneys and trusted by thousands.
Get On The Offensive: File Your Mechanics Lien If You’re Unpaid
Let’s talk about the offensive part of the mechanics lien process first – and that is jumping on your claim when you need to. If you’re unpaid on a construction project, file your lien. Do it without delay because lien deadlines can be difficult to calculate and procrastination can be deadly to your claim.
Folks delay filing a mechanics lien for a lot of reasons (i.e. waiting on a promise to pay). It’s understandable, but it’s not necessarily a good offensive plan for your business and accounts receivable management program.
Be Defensive: Protect Your Mechanics Liens On Every Project
The best offense is a good….defense :). In the mechanics lien context this is especially true, because in some states an offense is simply impossible if you don’t take the defensive measure of protecting your lien rights from the beginning of a project (See a map of which states require preliminary notices).
This blog is littered with information on why it’s smart to send preliminary notices. You can see a summary of some of the best posts at “Justify Sending Preliminary Notice On Every Project.”