Byline Mechanic's Lien Made Easy

Mechanics Lien bFormsb New Mexico Mechanics Lien - Zlien

hello my name is attorney Paul Chang and today is another day of ask the attorney today's lecture is very important okay and it's gonna be very difficult to understand so I'm gonna need you to really really focus on this now before we begin I just want to emphasize that this relationship is not an attorney-client relationship so what I'm gonna need you to do is go to the initial video that talks about what this relationship is but most importantly again this is not an attorney-client relationship today's topic is on mechanic's liens mechanic's liens are very very important California ok let me give you an example of mechanic's lien somebody works on your property they work they build a home and it's a hundred thousand dollars ok and you only pay seventy thousand dollars as the homeowner well the person has a mechanic's they can get you for thirty thousand dollars so that kind of lets you know exactly what a mechanic's lien is a mechanic's lien if properly done creates a cloud on title what that means is that it allows everybody in the world to know that there's a lien on your property it prevents you many times from getting a loan or selling your property until the mechanic's lien is taken care of ok so today's question relates directly to mechanic's liens and it is this dear attorney chain I'm a property owner in San Gabriel about two years ago I paid someone $5,000 to pave a new driveway he hired someone else to get it done suddenly he disappeared and when I recently tried to refinance my home I was denied because the bank said I have a lien on the property I told the contractor that I paid the person $5,000 scuse me the subcontractor that I paid the person $5,000 and it was not my fault that he did not pay him the subcontractor told me that he did not care and now wants me to pay him $25,000 to release my property I don't have $25,000 that is the reason why I'm getting the loan what do I do this is completely unfair Charles from San Gabriel Charles I just want you to know that indeed mechanics cleans many times seem unfair because what ends up happening is that there is always a possibility that you pay a contractor and then because in the contractor hires somebody else and then that person doesn't get paid and that person comes after you I want you to know in California there is although a view that people should not get work done for free there's also a view that there should not be clouds on title that people should freely be able to buy and sell real estate so what I'm gonna show all of you today whether you're on the contractor side or whether you're on the property owners side is what requirements are necessary to be able to effectuate a mechanic's lien and I think you're gonna be completely shocked ok this is my whiteboard we've written down on it so much it's all scratched up so here we go essentially when the work starts if you are a subcontractor a subcontractor you are required to give a 20 day notice to the property owner as well as the general contractor usually alright and the construction lender if necessary what things are being furnished on the property this is very very important so essentially if this is not comply with the 20 day notice essentially a subsequent mechanic's lien is invalid all right secondly is once the project is completed you only have 90 days to be able to file a mechanic's lien of only 90 days so let's pretend that the project is done on January 1st 2009 well 90 days from January 1st 2009 if the subcontractor has given a required 20-day notice and 90 days have elapsed on January 1st the deadline is hard and fast and therefore nobody is able to file a mechanic's lien the property owner or I can be able to cut down the time that people can file mechanic's lien if they file a notice of completion a notice of completion at the county recorders office and gives notice to everybody it gives 60 days to general contractors and 30 days to subcontractors to be able to file their mechanic's lien this is actually really shocking to a lot of people especially to a lot of contractors because they're very much used to the 90 days again notice of completion a typical situation occurs when there's an abandonment of the project what ends up happening when there's an abandonment of the project well if you abandon the project you have 60 days from the time the last project to stop and then the 90 days begins to run so let me give you an example let's say on January 1st 2009 project is over 20% is completed and the property owner says you know what forget it I don't want to do the property anymore well it's going to be 60 days from the from the stop of the abandonment and then from the 60 days there's another 90 days to file the mechanic's lien lastly in terms of foreclosure let's say a subcontractor has given the required 20 day notice they've filed a mechanic's lien 90 days they only have 90 days to foreclose so therefore contractors that basically put a lien on a property and let it sit for two years those are invalid there is one caveat and that is you must go to court to have a mechanic's lien taken off if you don't go to court to have the mechanic's lien taken off they can subsequently refile the mechanic's lien and have it enforced against your property what is the outcome of a properly filed mechanic's lien if you don't pay it they can foreclose on your property again in summary 20 days for subcontractors and I wanted to add in that if you're a general contractor you don't need to give the 20 day notice that's the general rule 90 days from the time of project completion to file a mechanic's lien if you're a subcontractor you have to give the 20 day notice the 90 days you can be able to cut it down to 60 and 30 days if you do a notice of completion the property owner if the property is abandoned you have 60 days from the last time that you file and then a 90 day period from the time of the 60 days and then the foreclosure is required 90 days Charles the answer to your question is this because of the fact that there was no foreclosure on your property you're gonna be okay it's an invalid lien you can go into court and the courts gonna wipe out that name congratulations take care have a good year bye-bye