I am hiring someone to do a large project at my home and am writing up the contract.
I will pay 1/2 up front and remaining when finished.
Should i do a partial lien waiver? ...Read More
Subcontractor that hasn't been paid retainer. The Liens have already been placed. They would like us to release the liens to accept the $30k. I would like to find some kind of document that accepts the partial payment other than a lien release/waiver....Read More
We completed a home renovation where the contractor walked off the job, filed a lien against us, and then filed a lawsuit. An attorney friend recommending settling to avoid the cost of court/arbitration.
After the settlement was signed we learned that the contractor (and his attorney) were intentionally holding back payments to the HVAC subcontractor and tile/flooring subcontractor. The HVAC contractor contacted us directly and specifically stated the contractor and attorney are not responding to him. The tile/flooring contractor actually sued the GC after we settled.
The problem is, these amounts were never disclosed to our attorney or to our bank via the Affidavits per payment. It would have changed our mind about suing since we could prove fraud.
I'm not sure if the contractor can claim this is a dispute between him and the subs and therefore isn't required to be disclosed to the bank. I believe (I'm an foresnic accountant/CPA) it's fraud since they filed a lien and lawsuit based on false/represented amounts. I'm on the fence of reporting to the police and/or suing for fraud in obtaining a settlement. ...Read More
I work for a subcontractor and multiple general contractors are requesting unconditional waivers to be signed BEFORE providing payment. I see this as a real issue, but several of them refuse to process payment until after they receive the unconditional waiver.
We supply a conditional waiver with our pay application, then the GC's require the unconditional waiver to process payment to us. Many of our GC's are out of state, so physically handing them the lien waiver in exchange for the payment is not an option. Any suggestions on how to handle this situation, as we give up our lien rights once we sign the unconditional....Read More
We have a project started one month ago and we recieved only a deposit. Owner asked to sign an unconditional lien waiver on progress payment & unconditional lien waiver on final payment. We signed an unconditional lien waiver on progress payment, but he is requestiong on final payment too, telling that bank cannot pay without both waivers. ...Read More
I'm the trustee to my Mom's estate. I recently listed her property for sale. I've had some minor house 'contractor' cost to spruce her house up. I hired a local guy that was "starting his own home improvement business". No contract - just verbal/FB messenger/text. We agreed on $800 to kilz and then paint most walls/ceilings white. After several inspections of work/touch ups he left the job unfinished and in worse condition. He short cut the project with a cheap all in one kilz/primer/paint - which was not what I asked for. There is now paint on all wood floors, trip, fixtures etc. I asked that he fix all the patches by rolling the walls out with one more final top coat and clean up the paint splatters. He didn't. He is now threatening me with a mechanics lien on my Mom's property. It will be selling/closing in the next three weeks. He will not give me his insurance policy number. I have photos/video of the damage. I've been able to put a top coat on one room myself but I think I will need to hire a new contractor to fix the damage and another to clean the floors. It was a verbal pay on inspection job. I haven't paid anything. He is now telling me I owe the cost of materials too which was NOT our agreement via facebook message. I feel like my hands are tied and my Mom's property is left damaged yet, he can slap a lien on the house to enforce payment but I have no rights to fight it? Should I pay then take him to small claims court to prevent the lien? Can I sue since I'm just the executor of her estate and the work took place in her home? Can he put a lien on the property when technically the owner of the home, my mom - didn't 'hire' him?...Read More
Hello, An issue has come up regarding our material suppliers. The date on our lower tier supplier lien waivers must match the date of the pay application we are providing our customer. When providing the waiver, we put the same date, but the date and amount of material we purchased is from the previous month. EX: Pay App dated 04.30.20 withe waiver dated the same. The backup of the paid invoices for the waiver is thru 03.31.20.
They will not sign the waiver.
We view the wavier as, we have paid the supplier in April for the March invoices. They see it as only being paid thru the end of March and will not sign it as April. Any suggestions for clarification? thanks...Read More
We have a customer who has a lien date of April 3rd. Now the Mortgage company is requesting a waiver to lien in order to release payment. On the form they asked us to sign it has a place to put the conditional upon payment amount. The remaining balance currently due is $10,954.53 but if/when we file this lien by friday we would add additional fees making the new balance $12,956.80. My questions for you is, Can we put the larger total on the Conditional Waiver legally due to most likely having to place the lien because payment may not be received until after the lien deadline? Or should we just "eat" the cost of fees to ensure we receive the whole payment currently due?...Read More
We received a partial lien waiver and there is a paragraph in the lien waiver I have never seen before. It says the following: (This Paragraph Applies only to Subtier Subcontractor) To the extent Subcontractor receives the Payment,
Subcontractor shall indemnify and hold harmless Regency, its surety, and the Owner, from and against any
lien, bond claim, demand, lawsuit or other claim asserted by Subcontractor or those under its control related
in any way to payments that Subcontractor received, excluding unexecuted change orders or time &
material work orders authorized by Regency still being performed during this period.
If we sign this does it give the general contractor the right to come back on us?...Read More
We signed a contract for a project - they are willing to let us out of it - we did not place any materials on the job or labor. we are owed no money- they said they would provide a lien to terminate the contract. How do I make sure there is no recoil for then to come back and try to sue us for the difference of the contract....Read More
We have a project that the customer sent us an “Unconditional Lien Waiver” for along with a photo copy of the check. The check amount includes a 10% retainage withholding. Shouldn’t this be a “Conditional Lien Waiver”? Also we have some change orders to submit and want to preserve our lien rights until these are paid also. Please advise....Read More
Does and unconditional lien waiver form cover all the GC's subcontractors or should a separate form be completed for each sub with the pay application?
At the completion of the project, is there a final lien waiver form different from the forms submitted during previous pay applications....Read More