I am painting a house. I was almost finished only the garage was left. Customer came to look at the house. After that she started complaining that certain things weren't done, but nothing that she had mentioned was in the estimate. Now she doesn't want to pay. I have spent over $1400 just on material and paying my helper.
That is a great question and one we get very often! If you have not been paid for work that is considered an improvement on a property, you likely have California Mechanics lien rights. However, even though a Notice of Intent to Lien (NOI) is not required by California's mechanic lien laws, they are frequently successful at producing payment without having to take the final step of filing a lien. Sending a Notice of Intent to Lien to a party that is not paying you can let them know you're serious about collecting and prioritize your payment. No one wants to be forced to file a mechanics lien, and this document gives all of the parties involved one last chance to take care of payment issues on a project. The NOI form advises a party that a lien will be filed if payment is not received within 10 days.
If the NOI doesn't render payment, you likely can proceed with filing a California mechanics lien.
Good luck!