Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Hi I received the notice of lien,but the contractor company did not finish their job yet,should i still pay for the balance? or how can i waive the lien to protect my self? Thank you
Hi I received the notice of lien,but the contractor company did not finish their job yet,should i still pay for the balance? or how can i waive the lien to protect my self? Thank you
The contractor company did not complete the project in the right way and even did not finish the job,but i received the notice of lien.What should i do ?
1 reply
Nov 5, 2018
I'm sorry to hear about that. First, I'd like to mention that zlien wrote a helpful article on this topic: A Mechanics Lien Was Filed on My Property – What Do I Do Now? As mentioned in that article, many owners have found the best course of action once a Notice of Lien has been filed is to reach out to the claimant directly to discuss the issue. There's a chance that the dispute can be resolved quickly and amicably. Even if a conversation isn't enough to resolve the issue, it can start as a jumping-off point for negotiation of the lien's removal. If the Notice of Lien was filed by someone other than the general contractor on this project, it might also be valuable to reach out to the general contractor and have them resolve the dispute. Often, payment issues pop up due to no fault of the owner, and there's a fair chance that the general contractor is already familiar with the payment dispute - even if the owner isn't. Depending on the amount of the Notice of Lien, it would be wise to reach out to a local construction or real estate attorney and present them with all documentation of the claim and the project, and with any other information that might be relevant. They'll be able to assess the claim and advise on how to proceed. Finally, paying a lien claim is always an option - and it may be the quickest way to resolve the issue. But again - consulting with an attorney first is typically a good idea.