A roofing company was subcontracted for a solar and roof project. They installed the roof. The solar company went under. There was no communication until the roofing subcontractor filed a lien. They did not request any payment prior. I don’t have any issue paying the lien. I just don’t want a paid lien to affect my credit for the next 7 years. How do I make sure a lien is taken off my record after it is paid? Do I need an attorney to force the contractor to retract the lien?
Once paid, the lien claimant is obligated to release the lien. However, it would not be a bad idea to have a formalized settlement agreement in place that would require the claimant to release the lien within a set time after receiving payment (eg. 3 or 5 business days) and you would probably want an attorney's assistance in preparing the settlement agreement. Alternatively, you could exchange the check for a recordable lien release, (a lien release with the claimaint't original signature, witnessed by a notarty) and then record the release yourself.