My parents are in a small dispute with their contractor. There is no formal written contract - only a bid and then an oral agreement to proceed. There is a disagreement on the final amount owing so work has stopped and they have just given my parents a preliminary notice - this is after they have contacted an attorney, my parents have countered with a settlement etc. And of course, work started back in December. From what I read, am I correct in that because 1 - they did not have a written contract and 2 - they did not send the preliminary notice within the first 8 days of getting started, the contractor and his subcontractor will not be able to actually place a lien?