Kaufman County Business Litigation Lawyers Guest and Gray Law Firm Home
Mechanic and Construction Liens
If you do work on people’s homes, you have probably had issues getting paid from time to time. Whether you do roofing, fencing, new construction, or even just general handy-man work, the law provides protection for mechanics, builders, materialmen, etc. who do work on people’s homes and don’t get paid. If certain requirements are met, you can place a lien on a home on which you did work. The lien attorneys at Guest and Gray Law Firm in Forney can help make sure you’re protected.
What do I have to do to be able to place a lien on a home?The answer to this question is fairly simple. In order to place a lien on a home on which you did work, you simply have to have a contract with the owner of the home, and you have to do work that qualifies for a lien.
The contract is must be in writing if the property is a homestead, which most of the properties you work on probably are. If the property is not a homestead, a written contract is not required but is still a good idea. And if you are a landscaper or a person providing demolition services, a written contract is required whether the property is a homestead or not.
As for work that qualifies for a lien, you simply have to furnish labor or materials for a qualified project. A qualified project is an construction or repair of any house, building or improvement. So “qualified work” is a pretty broad subject. As long as you’ve done work on the house or provided materials for work on the house, you likely qualify for a lien.
What has to be done to make the lien valid?Again, the answer to this question is pretty simple. Once you finish work on the home, a mechanic’s and materialman’s lien affidavit must be filed. It must be filed on or before the 15th day of the third month after the work is completed. So if you finished a job on March 2, you would have to file the affidavit with the county clerk on or before the 15th of June.
Additionally, you have to send notice of the filing of the affidavit to the owner of the property within five days of the affidavit being filed. This notice should be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.
As long as these two steps are taken and as long as you had a contract with the owner of the property, you will have properly effected a lien.
Call Guest and Gray Law Firm for lien help today.Our lien attorneys at Guest and Gray Law Firm can help you make sure you qualify for a lien, and we can handle the paperwork and notice requirements to make sure your lien is properly done. We’ll make sure that once the non-paying homeowner sells the house you worked on you get a check from the title company paying you for the work that you did. Call (972) 564-4644 to speak to a Forney lien attorney today.
