Hi - I am a residential homeowner in California who has been in a dispute with a contractor who did some work on my property and have been served a mechanics lien that was sent by Construction Notice Services, Inc. The link appears to have been recorded on my property as per the letters. The amount of the lien is roughly $1,000, which is what the contractor believes they are still owed. I believe this lien to be invalid both because the terms of the contract have not been fulfilled by the contractor, and the deadlines for filing the lien has passed (the job was substantially completed 9 months ago. Questions below. Thanks in advance for any insights. Questions: 1) How can I check to see if a lien has actually been recorded properly? 2) Is it worth it for the contractor to enforce the lien given the monetary value ($1,000) of the dispute in question? How much does it cost the contractor to actually try to enforce the lien? 3) They also put an interest charge from when they believed the payment to be due of just under 2%. Are they within their rights to do so? 4) Assuming the lien is invalid, what are the next steps I should take to try to remove the lien from my property, and how long does this process take? 5) Are there any repercussions for the contractor or the company that they used (construction notice services, inc) for filing an invalid lien that doesn't meet the required timelines?
Here are my thoughts.
1) How can I check to see if a lien has actually been recorded properly? You should be able to get a copy from the county recorder. Some counties have their records online. You could also ask the contractor for a recorded copy.
2) Is it worth it for the contractor to enforce the lien given the monetary value ($1,000) of the dispute in question? How much does it cost the contractor to actually try to enforce the lien? To file a lawsuit to foreclose the lien would probably be cost prohibitive if only $1000 is at stake. There is a court fee of a few hundred dollars just to file the complaint. And it would be difficult to do so without an attorney, which could cost many thousands of dollars to pursue through trial. If there is an attorney's fees provision in your contract with the contractor, then that changes the calculus if they can recover their fees if they win.
3) They also put an interest charge from when they believed the payment to be due of just under 2%. Are they within their rights to do so? A lien can include interest.
4) Assuming the lien is invalid, what are the next steps I should take to try to remove the lien from my property, and how long does this process take? You can file a petition in the county court to remove the lien. The statute permits the recovery of a minimal amount of attorney's fees. You could also record a mechanic's lien release bond.
5) Are there any repercussions for the contractor or the company that they used (construction notice services, inc) for filing an invalid lien that doesn't meet the required timelines? No other than losing thier lien rights and having to pay your attorney's fees for filing a petition - see #4.