We had to remove one of our subs because they could not keep the schedule. We gave them a deductive Change Order and a termination letter. (They have been paid a fair amount for the work they completed, so don’t expect our 1st sub to file a lien.) They have been unresponsive as we have tried to get them to sign the deductive CO and final lien waiver. The GC now has our payment on hold until we get them the waiver. ...Read More
We are an electrical contractor working with a particular builder on a few houses. Up to this point they have not required us to sign lien waivers upon receiving payments on the projects, but we currently have some past due invoices with them and they are refusing to pay until we have turned in signed lien waivers for the most recent payments.
The issue I'm having is that these are open projects, with balances left on the contracts. The waivers they've provided do not make it clear that there is still any balance left on the project and states that all bills have been paid on the project and there are no outstanding bills.
The only amount specified on the waiver is the payment made at the time it was issued. If we sign this, doesn't that set us up to forgo our rights of lien if they don't make their future payments? They never sent a contract for the projects so our only 'contract' is our proposal for the job that they signed, which lists our billing terms.
This is a customer we've been having issues with recently and they have been consistently paying late.
After our current projects are finished, our relationship with this builder is ending and both parties know it, so I don't want to set us up for signing away what little leverage we have since they have nothing to lose by not paying us now.
I want to ensure that I do not set us up to be unpaid for our work, without legal recourse. They have shown very shady business practices and seem to be up to something with their other subcontractors as well. We have been diligent in getting change orders approved in writing and have emails with them acknowledging to an extent that they owe us payment for the open invoices, but won't pay until their waivers are signed. Is this enough or would it all go out the window if we were to negligently sign a waiver saying there is no open billing left on the project?
Thank you so much in advance for your help. We are a small company and this customer owes us tens of thousands of dollars in total, so a misstep could greatly hurt us.
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Hi. I am with a general contracting company and we require for subs to turn in zero dollar supplier waivers if we have knowledge of them being on the job at all. Are these lien waivers the same as the typical South Carolina lien waivers that I would be using for a contract?...Read More
A material supplier is threatening to file a lien on a project if not paid all oustanding invoices as well as accrued finance charges. Can the supplier refuse to provide an unconditional release if I make payment on the invoices, but do not pay the finance charges?...Read More
Ive signed a conditional wiever for a company and now they tell me I have to wait 30 days to get payment. My 90 day mark to file lien is up on the 9th. I feel like they are doing this on purpose. What should I do. I sent a notice to file Lien and thats how we agreed on weiver...Read More
I have a punch list of 4-5 items to be completed to our satisfaction, I.e., cracks in wall (3), dishwasher not fully framed in and you can see into top of dishwasher ( contractor said pay us and will come back and trim it?), ceiling has 4/9 sprinkler heads with cracks and uneven marking around 4 rims (eye sore’, bowed wall byHVAC, front door key latch needs to be moved so outside hallway light doesn’t show through into condo, HVAC., missing about $600 of floor tile and door hinges from villa (contractor said he would investigate), no response? Contractor stopped sending emails in July. Only communicates via email and no follow up photo’s. COVID has kept us from SC age and health concerns.
Legal advance shared 4 months ago, require the GC to complete the punch list before final payment ( paying the final brill and trying get the project completed would require more time). SC contractors have not been reliable and difficult to find qualified people to complete a project.
If the GC files a lien without providing proof of completion? What is our options to resolve to our satisfaction.
The permit understated the cost by $20,000, did not include HVAC work, and did not have the fire department inspect the sprinklers required once installed (GC didn’t have a full understanding on rules for condos when sprinklers needed to be updated).
Please advise corrective action....Read More
I am renovating a house in South Carolina and have a stip sum contract with my GC. I have line item costs broken down for each trade, but do not know the exact amount that each trade has been contracted by my GC. How do I request lien waivers from each subcontractor without knowing their contract value? Is it possible to leave the amount blank or "unspecified" and have each sub sign to show they have been paid in full? Will that be legally binding without an exact amount? ...Read More