alazo1
Member
Is it a pita to go file one of these on a residential customer?. Would I have court dates and bunch of inconvenience or is it just going to the courthouse and file.
thanks,
Albert
thanks,
Albert
**IF YOURE DOING WORK FOR FRIENDS, MAKE THEM SIGN TWICE!
KBRENNY said:I did work for a new home builder here in the Dallas area and they got slow on paying. Eventually they stopped paying completely. Once they were 90 past due I refused to do anymore work for them which in turn upset the person who called in to schedule work. They told me they would stop using me if that was my attitude and I asked if they would continue to work if they were not getting a paycheck every week. I was forced to file liens on 18 houses that remained unpaid.
Here in Texas you will
first: obtain a form 1036 (affidavit for subcontractor for mechanic's and materialmen's lien) you will need one for each individual address
second: Check with you county tax office to obtain the legal description of said property and the current and correct owner.
(even though the work was done for the home builder, and the home had already sold to the new owner, it was legal here to file a lien in the new owners name for work previously completed and unpaid)
third: fill out the form and make sure it is done correctly, one mistake and it can be released without your knowledge. (most tax offices here will have a sample for you to go by for the proper location of all the information and in what format to put it in)
fourth: have the form notarized by a legal notary before taking it to the tax office to file. After it has been notarized make sure to get two copies. One for you and one to mail to the homeowner.
fifth: Take completed form to the tax office and file with clerk. There is usually a small fee involved but you can recover that also.
sixth: Mail a copy with a letter explaining yourself to the person who the lien was filed against. It is best to mail it certified for your records. If in the event the homeowner refuses the letter it will still be a standing lien as long as you have proof of such.
In Texas you can file the lien for the amount due for work done, the cost of notary, travel expense incurred to file, cost at county clerks office to file, and ( BONUS) after 30 days after work has completed up to 21% interest.
I was informed by a lawyer that if you go for the full 21% interest (compounded monthly), and it goes to court, the judge will look badly toward you, he advised me to go 18%. Do not stretch or exaggerate any of the fees as it will look bad on your part if it ever goes to court.
After I have filed and mailed my letter I do not worry anymore. One of two things will happen. You will either get a phone call the instant they know the lien is filed and try to pay, or they will disregard and blow it off. In the second option you will eventually get paid because they will never refinance or sell the home without you signing a release of lien. (they have to pay you for your time to do this also).
With the new home builder first mentioned they tried paying only the original invoiced amount due when they were informed of the lien.
If you cash that check you put yourself in a bad situation. Do not accept partial payment unless that is what you are willing to accept in total.
This also opened the home builder up to a lawsuit as when they sell a new home here the bank / company requires them to sign a legal document stating that all materials and subcontractors are paid in full at the time of sale / closing. If they knowingly have falsified this form they can be charged criminally and sued by the new homeowner and / or his lender.
Dave Rampage said:In my state you can't file a mechanics lein for cleaning. Only if you do construction and it can't be more than 120 days after you last did work in the home.
Dave