I am currently in contract with a person who told me they were the owner of a building where we moved in to begin working today. According to the the prelien information, the property is owned by an LLC in Arizona. The person originally wanted me to make the contract in the name of the Arizona LLC, but I couldn't find the listing. Now that I have followed the links from the prelien from Levelset, I see the listing. Should our contract state the person or the LLC? Please let me know as soon as possible. I am also getting a feeling these people are not completely honest. Thank you.
Out of state LLC's have to be registered in California as what is called a "foreign entity." If they have done that, you should be able to pull their name up in the Secretary of State's database. Also, sometimes the developer is not the owner of the property. In that case you want your contract to be with the person who is having the work done, not necessarily the property owner. If you have to file a mechanic's lien, you will do it because the developer did not pay you (not the property owner) but it is the property owner's property that is liened. Then usually the property owner pressures the developer to pay you. It might be worth having an attorney review the contract and your correspondence with the LLC before you get too deep into it.