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Lien Waivers Questions
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Lien Waivers
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Hello,
I work for a construction management firm (not a general contractor), and we approach the preliminary notices and lien releases from the property owner/client's perspective.
Our policy is pretty simple:
- Track receipt of prelim notices
- For pay apps, track conditional releases for current and final/progress for prior releases from general, subs, suppliers, etc.
- For final pay app, collect unconditional/final from general, subs, suppliers
- We have a form and policy to track individual prelims and releases
The problem is in the detail of tracking the prelims and releases. Here are some examples/questions we have:
- We don't often get copies of all of the prelims, so we don't necessarily know who to collect releases from. How should we manage this?
- Amount of release – we try to match it to the pay app schedule of values, but this often doesn't tie. Should we forget the amount and worry only about the date on the release?
- Should the total of all releases match the total of the pay app? Or specifically, should the subcontractor portion of the pay app equal the total of all subcontractor releases? What if they don't match?
- How do we know we've gotten releases from all subs and suppliers? We request subcontractor lists from the GC, but it doesn't normally include the 2nd tier or suppliers.
- How do we manage risk and protect our clients best? Is it okay to get 80% of releases for progress payments?
- What if the conditional release and unconditional releases don't match? For example, either the amount has changed, or the Through Date is different.
- If the Through Date on the unconditional release is later than the Through Date of the conditional release, is this okay to accept? What if the Through Date on the unconditional release is earlier than the Through Date of the conditional release?
- How do we handle self-performed work by the GC?
Thank you in advance for your help!
CaliforniaI've got a project in Houston with Royal America Construction. They are asking me to sign an Unconditional Progress Waiver in order for them to release the check in addition to the Conditional. Should I?
TexasI am being told conflicting information. Do I use the county of where the job is for the waiver or the county where my company reside in?
IllinoisThis is in TN-I am dealing with a Owner that wants many Lien Waivers all of a sudden. I want to know the difference between an Interim Release and Waiver (is this a partial payment) and conditional final release. And is it correct that you do not sign a unconditional lien release until you have been paid in full. And can a subcontractor fill out same waiver as a Contractor. I can't find a simple TN subcontractor's lien waiver. I'm sorry but I am way overwhelmed over all of this-I am just not comfortable signing all of these.
TennesseeWe have years of signed lien waivers and would like to get rid of them. We weren't sure how long we had to keep them.
MissouriI am a Georgia contractor working on jobs in Illinois. Companies are regularly asking for unconditional lien waivers saying we have received the check before they will release the check. Title companies always ask for this. We refuse to do so and claim it is illegal to require a company to sign a document saying we have received payment when we have not. Is there something different about IL lien laws?
IllinoisI’m a subcontractor on a job where I have filed my unconditional and conditional waiver of release progress payments. Have not been paid for the month of February or March. Can I file a mechanics lien
CaliforniaWe are using Digital ACH Payment. The software requires a Subcontractor to sign an Unconditional Lien Waiver, next an ACH payment is made to the Subcontractor's bank account. Once the Subcontractor receives their funds, the lien wavier is released to the Contractor. However the lien waiver states
"NOTICE TO CLAIMANT: THIS DOCUMENT WAIVES AND RELEASES LIEN, STOP
PAYMENT NOTICE, AND PAYMENT BOND RIGHTS UNCONDITIONALLY AND
STATES THAT YOU HAVE BEEN PAID FOR GIVING UP THOSE RIGHTS. THIS
DOCUMENT IS ENFORCEABLE AGAINST YOU IF YOU SIGN IT, EVEN IF YOU
HAVE NOT BEEN PAID. IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PAID, USE A CONDITIONAL
WAIVER AND RELEASE FORM." Has California addressed this issue?
CaliforniaWe have been working on collecting the balances for several invoices since we completed the project. Once the general contractor stopped answering our calls we reached out directly to the customer. They informed us that they would escalate our issue up the chain but we haven't received any response from them. The general contractor has filed for Chapter 7....can we continue to put pressure on the customer in which our work allows them to function?
TexasMany of my projects are billed in 3 phases ( 60/40/10). Prior to the release of payment, I request that my contractor provides a conditional on progress. After the first payment, should I be requesting a condition on progress waiver for the amount of the upcoming payment AND an unconditional on partial payment for any amount they have received to date? Is there a single document that effectively combines these? We work nationally so I have projects in all states, and most of my projects have 4-6 contractors and vendors.
North CarolinaWe are a Crime Scene Trauma Scene company; we provided services on a home in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The clean-up was completed and per our signed service agreement we processed the invoice through the (deceased) homeowner's insurance. The estranged husband was automatically listed as the next (per the insurance company) of kin and became the executor of the estate. He is the person that signed our service agreement. The insurance company issued a payment for our services in the form of a check and listed it as "IN THE ESTATE OF ______________". We were led to believe that the Executor (estranged husband) was in the process of setting things up with the estate lawyer and would have the estate (lawyer) pay our company for the services we provided. We have just learned that the executor (estranged husband) has just gone to the county to change the deed of the home into his personal name, and we have yet to receive payment for the services we provided. We want to place a lien on the home for our services. Is it possible to place a lien, is it possible to place a lien on the estate of the deceased, and on the Estranged husband?
FloridaHello, I work at a landscape company, we got hired as a subcontractor to perform a job. This contract included maintenance for a year, which was performed. We invoiced the general contractor (our client) and did not receive payment. The GC is claiming their client has not paid them yet so they cannot send us a check until they get paid by their client.
CaliforniaI am the project manager for the property owner. We recently completed a project, and the General Contractor has been paid in full for the contract total and provided an unconditional lien waiver. However, one of their subcontractors reached out to me saying they had not been paid and that they were moving forward with filing a mechanic's lien against the property. Am I responsible for paying the subcontractor if the General Contractor did not fulfill their obligation?
New YorkHello! The California Lien Waiver and Release has a "Through Date" field. What should I put here when the payment is a deposit, and is thus not related to a time period? Thank you!
CaliforniaI got an unconditional lien waiver off line wanting to know if this one is okay
Illinois