Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I'm a painter and remodeler without an lcc or license. This past summer through start of new year I had worked on my biggest project, 58 garage units and surrounding structures at a 3 condo complex. They have paid me the full of my estimate but my final bill is yet to be paid. seeing as how the final bill includes all of the additional labor that was asked of me and performed of me I was even verbally told that I would be getting paid, but it may be negotiable the amount. Which is ridiculous, because I feel like I charged nothing the condo I did work on is also were my mother owns her unit and lives. which I have lived at half the time with her over the past year; i caught a legal charge and since the board of directors is an ex cop, it can be stated that they don't want to pay me due to this charge. Not taking me as seriously. It's stated 'seems as though this bill has come up for obvious reasons' was stated in an email between board members. which my mother used to be secretary on but currently no longer. Help! The board of condo association hired me to prep patch and paint the 58 garages. Now, out of everyone in the condo, only 58 of them have garages. So, those people with the garages will be charged an amount over the course of... finding out now. in the 'association dues' although they are not aware of this amount until project is done. they have 18 months to pay it. BUT the condo takes out loans to pay the laborers hired for any project and then try and pay it back with charging the tenants their association dues so, i have paperwork from condos meeting last night saying they have paid for all the garage repairs. Which there was a company who is huge and more seasoned than myself who charged them 37,000 for wood rot repair and such. Where as i had it added on my plate to patch all of their mistakes when there was still complaints about their work. I want to get paid! Do I have that right?
I'm a painter and remodeler without an lcc or license. This past summer through start of new year I had worked on my biggest project, 58 garage units and surrounding structures at a 3 condo complex. They have paid me the full of my estimate but my final bill is yet to be paid. seeing as how the final bill includes all of the additional labor that was asked of me and performed of me I was even verbally told that I would be getting paid, but it may be negotiable the amount. Which is ridiculous, because I feel like I charged nothing the condo I did work on is also were my mother owns her unit and lives. which I have lived at half the time with her over the past year; i caught a legal charge and since the board of directors is an ex cop, it can be stated that they don't want to pay me due to this charge. Not taking me as seriously. It's stated 'seems as though this bill has come up for obvious reasons' was stated in an email between board members. which my mother used to be secretary on but currently no longer. Help! The board of condo association hired me to prep patch and paint the 58 garages. Now, out of everyone in the condo, only 58 of them have garages. So, those people with the garages will be charged an amount over the course of... finding out now. in the 'association dues' although they are not aware of this amount until project is done. they have 18 months to pay it. BUT the condo takes out loans to pay the laborers hired for any project and then try and pay it back with charging the tenants their association dues so, i have paperwork from condos meeting last night saying they have paid for all the garage repairs. Which there was a company who is huge and more seasoned than myself who charged them 37,000 for wood rot repair and such. Where as i had it added on my plate to patch all of their mistakes when there was still complaints about their work. I want to get paid! Do I have that right?
Let's start with the prerequisites to filing a mechanics lien in Iowa. In Iowa, all parties who furnish labor and/or materials to the property owner, the original contractor, or subcontractor are entitled to mechanics lien protection. Generally, a mechanics lien should be filed for the amount owed under contract. However, that's not to say that there must be a written contract for all amounts owed. Iowa does not appear to be one of the (relatively few) states that requires a written contract for the basis of a lien claim. That means that if a change order or extra work was performed as a result of a valid verbal agreement between a lien claimant and the property owner, then that work may be lienable.
Perhaps most important for this situation is the deadline to file an Iowa lien - Regarding the fact that this is a condominium project, an Iowa mechanics lien should be filed within 90 days after the date of last furnishing labor and/or materials to the project. If that deadline is missed, however, all is not lost. Iowa allows a lien to be filed after the 90-day deadline for a period of two years, though the amount of such a lien would be reduced to the extent that the owner has not yet paid the general contractor (if there was even a general contractor on the project). Regardless, adhering to the 90-day deadline is the safest route.
Anyway, regarding the fact that this is a condominium project, a mechanics lien may be filed against a condominium project in Iowa to the extent that a party would otherwise be allowed to file a mechanic’s lien. Note, though, that the ability to lien could be restricted if the property being liened is owned by one of the unit holders - but even still, their property may be liened if a lien statement specifically describes their unit.
Finally, it sounds like this situation has some touchy relationships, so it may be a good idea to evaluate whether a mechanics lien is appropriate for this situation. In order to help preserve the relationships (to some degree), a "warning shot" like a payment demand or a Notice of Intent to Lien may be a good idea even though they aren't required. Of course, keep an eye on the deadline to file a mechanics lien - ultimately missing out on payment to preserve a relationship may not be ideal.