Hi - I have a mechanic's lien against my property of which I am planning to bond off. Their attorney would then need to start the process against the bond. Does that mean I can defend the Invalid Mechanic's Lien (I am in default - totally blew it!) as the contractor didn't pull a permit for the dry rot eaves portion of the roof nor did he update the initial permit to include rafter work. Also - I don't want to sign a release as if I have to pay, I want to sue in small claims court for 'work not performed' as the eaves were not changed out fully.
Unless you need to bond around the lien due to your lender or another reason I would not recommend obtaining a lien release bond. The lien release bond costs you money and will extend the deadline to foreclose the lien to 6 months after service of the release bond. Absent a release bond, the contractor only has 90 days from recording of the lien to foreclose. Whether or not you have a release bond you will need to defend the foreclosure action. But if the contractor fails to bring a lawsuit to foreclose within 90 days, and you have not obtained a release bond, you can demand that the contractor remove the lien at its cost.
You need to hire an attorney and file a motion to set aside the default. That way you can asnwer the lawsuit and assert any counter claims you have. The bond will not help you in this scenario. All the bond does is remove the lien from the property and attached the lien to your bond. It will not stop the lawsuit. If you have further questions email me to set up a free telephone consultation.