We have a customer who's project scope expanded dramatically to the point they could not afford the necessary work to save the structural integrity of their home. We offered to finance the additional work over a year. Approx $25,000.00. The final payment of the original bid and the first monthly payment were due last week. After many phone calls we got a check $3202.69 short of the required amount. All followup calls have been ignored. I really don't want to file a lien but feel that it may be necessary. What are the steps and does this sound like the correct action?
Recording a lien may be the best course of action given the financial situation. Lien's are protected in bankruptcy and will give you a secured claim that at least has priority over any purchase money deed of trust. Be aware of the 6 month statute of limitations to file a suit to enforce the lien and also know that over that amount of money, the costs of a circuit court action may be prohibitive. The lien would still be there for 6 months though and would need to be resolved if they wanted to take out any further loans.