Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>What if I said the owner of the property even though I already filed a lien because I have a contract with them that the
What if I said the owner of the property even though I already filed a lien because I have a contract with them that the
If you filed a lien in a county and it was recorded through the county circuit court what is the next step to get judgment against the property so it is either sold to make payment or Pressure the owner to make the payment to the contractor
1 reply
Jan 30, 2020
Once a mechanics lien has been filed against a property, there are additional steps that must be taken if payment is still not forthcoming. All mechanics liens eventually expire and become unenforceable if an action to enforce the lien through the foreclosure and sale of the property is not initiated within the allowable amount of time.
In Virginia, an action to enforce a mechanics lien must be initiated within the later of 6 months from date lien recorded or 60 days from the completion or termination of the project. If that deadline is not met, the lien is rendered unenforceable.
The enforcement of liens in Virginia is governed by § 43-22. How Liens Enforced, which states:
"The liens created and perfected under this chapter may be enforced in a court of equity by a bill filed in the county or city wherein the building, structure, or railroad, or some part thereof is situated, or wherein the owner, or if there be more than one, any of them, resides. The plaintiff shall file with his bill an itemized statement of his account, showing the amount and character of the work done or materials furnished, the prices charged therefor, the payments made, if any, the balance due, and the time from which interest is claimed thereon, the correctness of which account shall be verified by the affidavit of himself, or his agent. When suit is brought for the enforcement of any such lien against the property bound thereby, all parties entitled to such liens upon the property or any portion thereof may file petitions in such suit asking for the enforcement of their respective liens to have the same effect as if an independent suit were brought by each claimant."
Since the enforcement of a mechanics lien is a full-blown lawsuit, it is something for which the lien claimant should enlist the assistance of a local attorney. While individual lien claimants could initiate the action on their own behalf, that is rarely if ever a good idea, and companies are disallowed from self-representation. Virginia attorneys can be found here, or through a search of local bar associations.