Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Please read the following string of events that I have regarding a mechanics lien in the State of Colorado and a few questions the process listed at the end. First, I have a NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE A LIEN STATEMENT completed (which will be signed) and a STATEMENT OF MECHANICS' LIEN (which will be signed and notarized). Second, a copy of each will be provided to the Principal Contractor and The Property Owner via certified mail. Third, I will take my receipt & assoc. # (proof of certified mail slip) back to the notary and have an AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING – CONTRACTOR / OWNER signed and notarized. Next, I need to wait 10 days and on the 11th day after issuing the NOI to FILE MECHANICS LIEN I will file the actual lien with the City and County that the project is located in. A few Questions about the prior statement... - Question #1: Is the Sequence of events above the correct sequence or do I need to have the “AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING – CONTRACTOR / OWNER” notarized at the exact same time as the NOI & STATEMENT OF MECHANICS' LIEN? - Question #2: Do I need to provide the owner a copy of the AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING – CONTRACTOR / OWNER? - Question #3: Do I need to have any other affidavits signed during the process such as an “AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING PRIOR TO FILING LIEN STATEMENT” which would be done 10 days after the NOI was issued? - Question #4: When filing the Lien with the city and county do I need to provide the “AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING – CONTRACTOR / OWNER” or the “NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE A LIEN STATEMENT” at that time?

Please read the following string of events that I have regarding a mechanics lien in the State of Colorado and a few questions the process listed at the end. First, I have a NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE A LIEN STATEMENT completed (which will be signed) and a STATEMENT OF MECHANICS' LIEN (which will be signed and notarized). Second, a copy of each will be provided to the Principal Contractor and The Property Owner via certified mail. Third, I will take my receipt & assoc. # (proof of certified mail slip) back to the notary and have an AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING – CONTRACTOR / OWNER signed and notarized. Next, I need to wait 10 days and on the 11th day after issuing the NOI to FILE MECHANICS LIEN I will file the actual lien with the City and County that the project is located in. A few Questions about the prior statement... - Question #1: Is the Sequence of events above the correct sequence or do I need to have the “AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING – CONTRACTOR / OWNER” notarized at the exact same time as the NOI & STATEMENT OF MECHANICS' LIEN? - Question #2: Do I need to provide the owner a copy of the AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING – CONTRACTOR / OWNER? - Question #3: Do I need to have any other affidavits signed during the process such as an “AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING PRIOR TO FILING LIEN STATEMENT” which would be done 10 days after the NOI was issued? - Question #4: When filing the Lien with the city and county do I need to provide the “AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE OR MAILING – CONTRACTOR / OWNER” or the “NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE A LIEN STATEMENT” at that time?

I have remaining amounts due me for work that I performed on a project at the request of GC. Payment has not been received after numerous attempts to contact and collect including a letter provided to GC on 04/12/19. Re: Previously provided invoices #1122 ($5,069.90), #1124 ($5088.59), and #1126 ($2878.70). The total amount due and owing is $13,037.19 for materials/labor/services furnished for work of documentation and improvement from 10/16/18 to 11/27/18.

1 reply

May 1, 2019

These are good questions, and if you haven't had a chance to read it yet, I think this resource will be really helpful: How to File a Colorado Mechanics Lien. Anyway, let's try and tackle this issue by issue. First, before filing a mechanics lien in Colorado, a lien claimant must send a Notice of Intent to Lien. In that Notice of Intent to Lien, it's generally a good idea to include the information that will ultimately be included in the lien claim, and it's extremely common to send a copy of the lien itself along with a Notice of Intent to Lien. Because a mechanics lien must be signed and notarized, the copy of that document is also signed and notarized, too. Second, a Notice of Intent to Lien must be sent to the property owner and the prime contractor, or their agents, at least 10 days before filing a Colorado mechanics lien. Note that sending an NOI well before the lien deadline may provide serious benefit, as it will allow more time to try and compel payment before a lien must be filed. Plus, if a claimant waits too late, they might not have time to both send their NOI and file their lien claim. Third, an affidavit of service or mailing must be filed along with the lien statement - and that shall constitute proof of service of the Notice of Intent to Lien - and affidavits must be notarized. In reference to Question 1: Note that signing notarizing the affidavit of service or mailing of the NOI need not be done at exactly the same time as the NOI, itself. The affidavit is merely a sworn statement indicating that the party sending notice sent the notice on the date they've provided within the affidavit. In reference to Question 2: The affidavit proving service or mailing of the NOI only needs to be present for the actual lien filing. The affidavit of mailing/service does not need to be sent to the owner as well - though, when notice of the filed lien claim is made (after the lien is filed), the affidavit will often be included in that mailing. In reference to Question 3: I'm not sure I follow, but I believe the information included in the answer above and the link provided at the beginning of this answer should be helpful there. Note, though, that the lien claim itself must be notarized in order to be valid, and that an affidavit of service/mailing for the NOI must be included with the lien claim. In reference to Question 4: It does not appear that the Notice of Intent to Lien document itself must be filed along with the mechanics lien - but doing so probably couldn't hurt. Regardless, the affidavit of mailing/service of the NOI must be filed along with Colorado liens. I hope this was helpful! Keep in mind, if you're feeling overwhelmed with the process of filing a Colorado lien, many construction businesses turn to online filing services (like zlien) or construction lawyers for help. Good luck, and I hope you get paid what you're owed! For more information on Colorado liens, this resource should be valuable: Colorado Lien & Notice Overview.

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