I have a cottage on a lake in Maine. Permanent home in Connecticut. In 2007 a contractor did work on the cottage. I paid him about $30,000.00. We parted because I was not happy with his work. i had paid all amounts due at that time. He later billed me for $9,000.00 saying he had removed the discount he had figured in the project. I thought he was crazy. I didn't pay this additional amount. Never heard from him again. Now I want to transfer the cottage to my daughter. There is a lien on the property from this contractor. Does this lien stay on the property forever? Can I get this lien remover because of the age of it ? Do I need to try to find this contractor from 2007 and have him remove the lien?
I would need you to provide a few more details before I could answer your question fully. When you say there is a lien on the property, do you mean the contractor recorded a notice of lien claim in the Registry of Deeds for the county where the property is located (presumably, back in 2007)? If so, did he follow up on that by timely filing a complaint to enforce the lien? If not, then his lien rights have expired. You should reach out to him and ask him to execute a discharge of the lien in recordable form. If you cannot locate him, then you may need to file a lawsuit to remove what he filed from the property.