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After lien is filed what is the next step?

Had completed almost all of job but 4 exterior doors and was fired. Home owner does not want to pay. Original contract was for $4350 a 3rd down job took 11 days had half day left and she said she wasn't satisfied. I offered to fix whatever she wanted.

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Jun 27, 2018

I'm sorry to hear about that. Before getting too far along, it's important to note that Texas has some very strict requirements, especially when work is done on a homestead property (granted, not all residential properties are homesteads). For more on the requirements for filing a lien on a homestead, try this article: Texas Mechanics Lien on Homestead Property: Everything You Need to Know. Anyway, regarding what happens after a lien filing - typically, a lien filing will force the property owner and/or GC to come to the table and resolve the payment dispute. Nobody likes liens, but property owners especially hate them because a lien clouds their property title. So they'll likely want to resolve the dispute as swiftly, painlessly, and fairly as possible. It's also worth noting, though, that many owners or GC's will instinctively challenge the lien claim, but this does not necessarily mean there's an issue with the validity of the filed lien. However, the majority of lien claims are resolved outside of the courtroom. If a lien filing has taken place and payment is still not forthcoming, a claimant may have to enforce their mechanics lien. If an enforcement action is necessary, that means a claimant will have to file a lawsuit to enforce their lien claim against the owner. Again, this legal action rarely becomes necessary, but the deadline to do so is strict. In Texas, for residential property, an action to enforce the lien must be initiated by the later of either 1) 1 year after the last date on which the lien claimant could file his lien, or 2) 1 year after termination, completion, or abandonment of the project. Before an enforcement action becomes necessary though, a document like a Notice of Intent to Foreclose often helps to enforce payment. Sort of like the Notice of Intent to Lien mentioned earlier in this response, a Notice of Intent to Foreclose is another warning shot. This time, though, the warning is that if payment isn't made, the claimant will file suit to enforce the lien - which could result in a property owner losing their property. As you could imagine, owners can't afford to ignore such a notice. Ultimately, once a lien is filed, the claim can go any number of ways. But the fact remains: when a lien is filed, payment typically comes shortly after.

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