Hi Below is the "chat" we were having with Cherae, from Level Set Chat. In the chat is a copy of the body of a draft demand letter we were planning to send to the neighbor who has not yet paid his share of the cost of the road improvements and grading he initiated. Please advise. Chat I, Paul Beecham, am a licensed general engineering contractor in San Luis Obispo County. I based and graded a common private road used by 5 other households including myself. I supplied the base material and the equipment to improve a section of our road at the initiation of the neighbor at the end of the road. We discussed a price of $2000 per household, and the final cost was $1991.75 per household. Everyone paid their bill upon receipt except for the neighbor who initiated the work and who has two parcels at the end of the road. I issued him a 20 day notice and he still has not paid. I believe my next step is to send him a demand letter, but I have a couple of questions regarding the draft I have composed. Me Thank you for chatting with Levelset, where our team is ready to empower you to get what you earn! Please give me just a moment to review your chat request. I'd love to help :) what questions do you have? Charae Can I copy and paste the draft here? Me Absolutely! Charae Please be advised that Mr. Kurt Mammen owes Paul Beecham Construction $1991.95 because, after a gentleman's agreement, with all involved (5 neighbors, including you and me), for me to complete a common road improvement, that you initiated, you are the only neighbor who is contesting the amount and refusing to pay your share. You and I, in front of our neighbor, Donna Silva, discussed my estimate of $2000 for each participant (5 x $2000 = $10,000). The final bill was $1991.95 each. I supplied the base material, trucking, equipment, fuel, labor, and encroachment permit, and have paid all those suppliers. If this bill IS paid within 15 days of receipt of this letter, I will consider this account closed and settled. Since Paul Beecham Construction is considered a “material supplier” on this job (base material supplied) he has the right to place a lien on your property located at 1254 Vista del Osos, APN #074-325-066 and your adjacent property at 0 Vista del Osos, APN #074-325-067. If this bill IS NOT paid within 15 days of receipt of this letter, please be advised a lien could be placed on the properties mentioned above (APN #074-325-066 and APN #074-325-067), in addition to a lawsuit being brought against you. Furthermore, your lender could be notified of the liens on your properties. Please be also advised that all legal expenses involved in my pursuing payment, plus 10% interest compounded monthly, will be added to the current bill of $1,991.95. I just sent the body of the letter. We want to be sure that everything we said is true and legal. We also wanted to know what we can include in the letter re: our expenses, ie interest, legal fees etc. in the last paragraph. Me Since a demand letter is not required in California, this letter can include anything you choose. As long as you are still within your California lien deadlines, this demand letter would generally be true. Charae Can I file a lien without going to small claims court? We welcome any input you may have. Thank you! Me Absolutely! When was the last day you furnished any labor or materials? You can also send a free Notice of Intent to Lien or Payment Demand Letter through Levelset if that would be helpful! Charae The final work on the finished road was Friday, January 31, however I also had to meet with the county official to final the Encroachment Permit on the 11th of February. We mailed the 20 day notice on February 13 by certified mail. Is there any advantage to going through small claims court over filing a lien? Is there any issue with filing a lien when the work wasn't done on his property? We prefer not to go to small claims court, if possible. Me Do you know who owns the road that work was performed on? Charae We don't know about the ownership of the road. It has been used since the 70s by everyone there. He has an easement to get to his property. Me Oh yikes!! In this case, I definitely don't want to point you in the wrong direction since I'm not an attorney. I would highly recommend our free service that we offer called the Ask an Expert Center. Anyone can submit construction law questions that get answered by licensed attorneys, and it is a great resource for legal information levelset.com/payment-help/ask-...