California
Construction
Liens
 The California Constitution itself gives contractors,
subcontractors, and material suppliers the legal right to file a construction
lien against property they have provided labor or materials for.
Construction liens are powerful tools that secure a position
of legal strength and leverage from which to increase your profits while
decreasing your risk of legal problems on construction projects.
But to preserve this right you must follow very strict and
somewhat complicated legal procedures to the letter. If you do not,
you may be forfeiting your lien rights and a lot of money along with them.
Do you serve a preliminary notice on every job? You
must. Do you use stop notices to protect your interests when payments
are late? You should. Do you know when, where,
and how to record mechanic's liens? You ought to. If you need help,
these construction
lien attorney services will ensure your lien rights are fully protected.
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Construction
Lien Attorney Services
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Service
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Brief
Description
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Fee
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Preliminary
Notices
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Research,
notice preparation, certified mailing with return receipt (for up to
three parties), proof of service affidavit, and County Recorder filing
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$150
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Stop
Notices
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Research,
notice preparation, certified mailing with return receipt, and
verification
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$300
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Mechanic's
Liens
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Research,
lien preparation, service of notice, and
mechanic's lien recording
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$300
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Bond Claims
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Research,
claim
notice preparation, certified mailing with return receipt, and proof
of service
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$300
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Amendment,
Extension, or Discharge of Notice, Claim, or Lien
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Research,
document preparation, and lien filing
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$250
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Construction
Lien Package
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Package
of any of the construction lien services above for any one matter, or
mix-and-match construction lien services across several matters
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$1,000
retainer
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Become
a Calilaw
Construction Counsel™ Client and save up to 60% off the package price!
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PRELIMINARY NOTICE
Serving
preliminary notices is a must! In California, subcontractors and material
suppliers must serve a preliminary notice to the property owner, general contractor, and the
construction lender on a project in order to preserve their rights to file a
mechanic's lien, stop notice, or payment bond claim. A preliminary notice
retroactively protects you for up to 20 days prior to serving the notice.
Thus, to protect yourself fully, a preliminary notice should be filed within 20
days of first providing labor or materials to a construction project.
Timing is important, but so is accurate research, document preparation, and
mailing procedure. Without filing the preliminary notice properly, your
rights may be lost!
STOP
NOTICE
A
properly filed stop notice places a lien on construction funds. Stop
notices may be filed on both private and public construction projects. A
stop notice may be filed against the property owner (for public works) or the
construction lender (for private works) at any time during a construction
project at which money that is owed you is past due. You need not complete
your work before filing a stop notice. Stop notices put a claim only on
any money remaining in the construction funds at the time of your notice, so
just as with a preliminary notice, the timing of a stop notice is critical.
Generally you have 90 days from the date of completion to file a stop notice,
but if a timely notice of completion is recorded, the deadline shrinks to 30
days. Because stop notices can only put a lien against money remaining in
the construction fund at the time of your notice, the best practice is to file a
stop notice as soon as your payment becomes past due. It is too late once
the construction funds have been paid out - even if not paid to you.
MECHANIC'S
LIEN
A
mechanic's lien can be filed against real property by contractors,
subcontractors, and material suppliers if they are not paid for labor, service,
or materials provided to improve that real property. Once a mechanic's
lien is filed, the owner of that property may not be able to sell or refinance
the property, and in fact the property may be foreclosed to pay off the lien.
Mechanic's liens are another powerful tool offering protection for California
construction contractors and material suppliers, but there are pitfalls.
If a suit to enforce the lien is not initiated within 90 days of filing the
lien, the lien rights may be lost. Also, if a lien release is not properly
filed when necessary, the property owner may be able to get the property title
cleared of the lien and then recover attorney fees against you! That's why
it is recommend you consult with a qualified attorney before filing a lien. Click
for 2011 Mechanic's Lien Law Changes.
AMENDMENT,
EXTENSION, OR DISCHARGE OF MECHANICS LIEN
In some instances, it may be necessary to file an amendment to
the original lien, or request an extension of the lien. In all cases where
a mechanics lien has been filed, it is necessary to discharge or release the
mechanics lien once the debt has been collected. Failure to do so can expose you to
a potential lawsuit by your debtor. That's why it is very important to
have a competent attorney handling your mechanics lien matter, who knows what
to file and when.
BOND
CLAIM
A
bond claim may be made against a performance or payment bond
when trying to collect the money you are owed. Unlike stop
notices or mechanic's liens, you do not need to have previously filed a
preliminary notice to make a claim on a bond. But speed and legal rules do
come into play when submitting a bond claim. It is important to have it
done right so as to protect this valuable security against the money you are
owed.
CONSTRUCTION
LIEN PACKAGE
Package of any of the construction lien services above on
any one matter, or mix-and-match construction lien services across several
matters. Construction lien services include preliminary notices, stop
notices, mechanics liens, bond claims, or an amendment, extension, or discharge
of lien.
To schedule an appointment
to talk to a California construction lien attorney today, call 626.789.2828
or contact us
online.
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Free
Consultation
Schedule
a no-cost phone consultation with a California construction attorney today:
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| The Law Office of Marc G. Garlett, located in the heart of the San Gabriel
Valley in Alhambra,
California, offers a full array of construction lien attorney services to California
contractors, subcontractors, and building material suppliers in the Los Angeles, California
area. Construction lien attorney services are provided throughout the City of Los Angeles and other communities in Los Angeles County such as Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Baldwin Park, Burbank, Duarte, East Los Angeles, El Monte, Glendale,
Irwindale, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South El Monte, South Pasadena, and Temple
City, CA. |