Hello! So i hired an old friend and his friend to paint the outside of my home. It was supposed to take 3 weeks tops and that turned into 2 and 1/2 months. After they did a terrible job and showed up maybe one or two days a week for the past 2 months, i got tired of it and fired them. They now claim theres only 12 hours of painting left and my house would be finished and they're threatening to put a mechanics lien on my house because I owe them over $5,000. We agreed upon $7,000 to paint and I had already paid them $3,300. Not sure what I should do about this situation but they did such a poor job painting my home i need to have it repainted by someone who is actually a professional. There was no written contract, only verbal. I explained to them when i let them go that i would be more than happy to pay them the difference after i get a quote later this week from an actual painter. What can i do to protect myself in this situation?