We done a demo and contents job coming amount coming to 50k. Spoke to adjuster he states it isnt going to matter if I place a lien on the property is this true? This home is in appraisal and has been since November.
1 reply
May 9, 2019
That's an interesting question, and I'm not quite sure I fully understand the context here. However, regardless of whether a home is in appraisal, a mechanics lien could be filed if lienable work has been performed but gone unpaid for. Mechanics liens work in a number of ways to work for payment. But, once a mechanics lien is filed, it creates an interest in the property. If that lien remains unpaid, the lien claimant could enforce the lien and force the sale of the project property, if push comes to shove. Further, if a mechanics lien is filed before the sale of the property, the sale taking place will not vacate a lien filing. Instead, the new property owner would end up having to deal with the filed lien - and they would very likely bring in the prior owner to resolve the matter. The possibility of a lien surviving a property sale actually provides more leverage to a lien claimant - if that claimant threatens or warns that a lien will be filed soon, that threat could slow down the closing process. This is especially true when the purchaser, title companies, and/or closing attorneys all become aware of the potential lien. Obviously, if the lien is actually filed, that would throw a serious wrench in the closing process as well. But in either scenario, the potential for a lien throwing off the closing process is a serious motivator for a property owner to make sure that payment is made and no liens are filed. For more information on the many ways a lien claim can lead to payment, this resource covers a lot of ground: 17 Ways a Mechanics Lien Can Get You Paid. For more on Indiana liens, specifically, this resource should be valuable: Indiana Mechanics Lien & Notice Overview.