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How do I escalate to forclosure to get paid?

Anonymous General Contractor

I have a deadbeat homeowner who stiffed me on a hail restoration contract tot the tune of $9112.00 ish. All work was completed and to her satisfaction. She just stole 9K of the insurance money because she wanted it.

2 replies

Robert Murillo

Construction Lawyer

Legal Guard Lawyer

Attorney at Pivotal Legal Ltd

| 85 reviews

May 1, 2021

I am sorry about the nonpayment and I understand hoping to get paid quickly. You start by following the mechanic's lien procedure to the letter and that includes service of the notice of intent to lien, timing, amount, everything. If you get lucky, the homeowner may pay then but there is no guarantee. If she does not pay and you want to foreclose on the lien you must follow that procedure which entails a foreclosure lawsuit in district court including service on all proper defendants, lis pendens, title work, so on. Unless you have filed a foreclosure lawsuit, it is not something that is really viable to be done on a DIY basis even if they don't get an attorney. If they get an attorney, then it is even more difficult. If they respond and defend then you deal with those issues and if it goes all the way to trial you hope win at trial. Most cases settle before trial. If yours does not settle and you win, you then foreclose. This process can take a year or more depending on what happens in the lawsuit and the schedule of the court. It could take considerably less if they default which is not that common in these matters. Likely the best route is to start with the lien. If they don't pay, then hire an attorney to make a demand and see if that works. If not, then work with an attorney on the suit under a limited representation as this amount is too small to hire an attorney under a full representation. I know that everyone hopes for some easy and quick process to get paid related to liens and foreclosure but you need to know that the process is often anything but quick and easy. The reality is that very few lien claimants proceed with a foreclosure lawsuit because of the cost and complexity.

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Robert Abrams

Construction Lawyer

Managing Member at Abrams & Associates, LLC

| 9 reviews

May 1, 2021

Call my office to discuss 3/322-4115

Robert (303) 322-4115
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