Our job was completed july 10th no payment was made after several attempts. We filed a mechanic lien on july 12th. Now its been 63 days since we have contacted client or received payment. What is my next step to get payment asap?
1 reply
Sep 22, 2020
There are a few steps worth taking to force payment on a mechanics lien. For one, making sure everyone involved with the project (your customer, the GC, the property owner, etc.) knows about the lien claim is an important first step. Then, contacting your customer, the owner, or other stakeholders to negotiate payment for the release of the lien is typically a good move.
If others aren't taking the matter seriously enough, sending a document like a Notice of Intent to Foreclose could force others to take notice. And, of course, threatening other legal claims with a payment demand letter might be a worthwhile exercise, too. If push comes to shove, opting to enforce the filed lien (via lawsuit) may become necessary - but things typically don't make it to that point. Note, of course, that the deadline to enforce is 6 months after when the debt first became due. So, the closer that date draws, the more serious you'd need to consider enforcing the lien or letting the lien expire.
For further discussion on recovering on a filed lien: The 4 Steps to Take After Filing a Mechanics Lien.