We have a lien filed on project in St. Augustine, FL. We can file a lawsuit in February 2021. Do you recommend having an attorney send a letter on the status of the project or status of payment?
First make sure the lien is served on the property owner as well as on any party who was above you on the project (prime contractor if you are a sub; prime contractor and subcontractor if you are a supplier to a sub). Then notify the owner that you intend to foreclose on the lien if the amount due is not paid. If that does not work, then contact an attorney to send a demand letter. If that doesn't work, then you may decide to sue. The idea is that you continue escalating the situation. Note that an owner is able to avoid responding to you without consequence up until a lawsuit is filed.
To be clear, you can file a lawsuit anytime after you record the lien. You do not have to wait until the one year mark. You also are required to serve a copy of your lien on the property owner within 15 days after recording. I do recommend consulting with an attorney regarding your options. It may be helpful to have an attorney send a demand letter seeking payment, but that is not required.