Depending on where you perform work and the type of construction project, you’ll likely need to know specific information to properly file your mechanics lien or bond claim.

Most states, for example, require you to identify the project jobsite with a legal property description, rather than a simple municipal address.  Some other information you may be required to know includes:  (i) the name and address of the property owner; (ii) the identity of the bonding company who issued a bond for the project; (iii) the county where you performed work; and (iv) whether the project has a notice of commencement or notice of completion recorded.

While all of this information is in the “public record,” the trick is knowing where to look or who to ask. Once you know where to look or who to ask, getting the information is quite simple.  We wrote about finding a construction bond, for example, in the post:  Don’t Know Who Bonded A State or Federal Project?  Just Ask.

But you’re not in the information gathering business. Doing the research on how to obtain a bond or a legal property description, and then actually going out and getting it done, is time consuming and not a productive use of your time.

You can outsource all of that work to Zlien.  And here’s the best news: whenever you order anything from us, the price includes getting all of this public information.  Our mission is to help you Lien Smarter, which means you leave the hard work to us and focus on what makes you money.

Proper preparation of the mechanic lien or preliminary notice form, however, is not as easy as it sounds. This isn’t because it takes a brilliant legal mind (or any legal mind) to understand how to fill in the blanks – that it certainly doesn’t – but because preparing these documents is time-consuming and requires strict adherence to certain procedures.

Let me offer you a few examples:

Legal Property Description Research

It’s nearly uniformly required across the country that mechanic liens identify the property being liened with a legal property description. The street address, in other words, is not enough. What is a legal property description?   We wrote an entire blog post on this subject, and you can read it here:  Identifying Property in a Mechanic’s Lien.

The definition of a legal property description is:

A legal description (also referred to as land description, property description, or land boundary description) is “a written statement recognized by law as to the definite location of a tract of land by reference to a survey, recorded map or adjoining property.” (from: Glossaries of BLM Surveying And Mapping Terms, Second Edition, 1980.)

To properly prepare that mechanic lien form (and even some preliminary notice forms), you need to research and find the legal property description. Hiring someone experienced in researching legal property locations is critical to properly identifying the property in your lien.

Getting The Form To The Right Places

Assuming you have properly filled out the form, the next step is getting the form filed and / or delivered to the right places, in the statutorily required way.  Here are some questions you will confront:

Does this document need to be filed?  If so, in which county office is it filed?
Most liens require filing, and most notices do not. However, there are exceptions to both. Where you file depends on the state’s requirements, with filings usually going to the county’s mortgage, auditor or recording offices.

Service Required After Filing The Lien?
Once the lien is filed, your task is not over. Most states require that the filed and stamped lien be served upon certain interested parties, including the property owner, the lender, the prime contractor, and/or those other parties up your contracting chain. Service can sometimes be through the mail, but other times require delivery by a courier or sheriff. Knowing what service is required and how it must be done is critical to correctly filing the lien.

How to send the preliminary notice?
Most states require that preliminary notices be sent in a certain way.  Most of the time, the notices are to be sent certified mail or certified mail with return receipt requested. But, there are always exceptions. Sometimes, the notice must be sent restricted delivery, sometimes registered mail, or sometimes by common courier (like FedEx) or hand-courier.

Do I Need to Keep Proof of Delivery?
Yes, and the type of proof varies.  The return receipt green card may be enough, but you may also need an affidavit of delivery. Check out this blog post on the topic: Strict Proof of Delivery May Be Required For Your Construction Notice.

Little Mistakes May Invalidate Your Lien

Unfortunately, since lien laws are very strictly construed, many states will consider a mechanic’s lien or preliminary notice invalid if there is some defect in how it is filled out (i.e. no legal property description) and how it is handled (i.e. filed in the wrong place, or delivered / served incorrectly).

The cost of these mistakes can be significant, and since there are so many moving parts in the filing or delivery of these lien and notice products, it’s a mistake to buy a simple do-it-yourself form and try to maneuver through these mazes of requirements.

Hiring a company like like Zlien (or a construction attorney), who is experienced and familiar with each state’s specific requirements, will reduce the likelihood of error for your company, and make sure your lien and notice rights are protected.

For more posts about this subject, take a look at the Tag “Why Us.”

This is a huge time-saver for folks working on construction projects in Utah.   We know the frustration contractors and suppliers have in other states, because we experience them ourselves at Zlien.

The property records offices in counties across the country can be an absolute mess.   Sometimes, its next to impossible for a subcontractor or supplier to locate the legal proeprty description for a parcel of land, the name of the property owner, and whether anything has been filed on the project.  Even though its incredibly hard to find this information, the contractor or supplier may still be responsible to know it.

Imagine if across the country this information was inputted into standardized online registry of construction projects?   That’s how things work in Utah.

In and out of Utah, one of the most compelling selling features of the Zlien service is that we make things simple for you.  After all, running your construction or supply business is difficult enough that you shouldn’t have to be research experts, or monitor lien and notice requirements across the 50 states.  How is this for simple:  You give us the project details, and our staff researches the property owner and the legal property description for you.

This can save your company hours, and since we’re more experienced at searching for this data, our search results are reliable.

Even thought the information is more accessible in Utah, that doesn’t nullify our utility.  You give us the project information, and we do the leg work.   Forget about spending an hour or two figuring out the SCR system, or having to followup with the city, or having to verify information by doing research online.

Zlien is the smarter way to lien, and we guarantee it.

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When filing a mechanic’s lien on a construction project, it is of course critical to identify the property within your lien. While a seemingly simple task, the laws in nearly every state are very specific about how property is identified…and the consequences of small mistakes can be fatal.

In most states, for example, the statutes and case law governing private construction liens clearly require a “property description” that is more specific than a municipal address. While the law does not explicitly require a “legal property description,” it is clear from the court’s interpretation of the laws that a legal property description is sufficient and a municipal address is not.

Since courts are typically not reluctant to dismiss a lien when simple formalities – such as the property description – are overlooked, to ensure your lien’s validity a legal property description should be used.

What Is A Legal Property Description?
Perhaps the best way to explain legal property descriptions is to demonstrate what it is not; A legal property description is not a simple address.

Accordingly, if you put something like this on your lien to identify a property, your lien is likely invalid:

123 Main Street
Seattle, WA 98134

If you were given a legal property description and a driving map, you’d probably have a very difficult time finding the property. This is because legal property descriptions typically speak in the language of county recorder offices, and not in the common directional parlance of everyday life. A legal property description looks less like the above and more like this:

Subdivision: Breatheway
Range: 105
Lot: 66
County: King
Square: 4-A

Want the technical definition?

A legal description (also referred to as land description, property description or land boundary description) is “a written statement recognized by law as to the definite location of a track of land by reference to a survey, recorded map or adjoining property.”

How To Get the Legal Property Description

In many construction contracts (including AIA contracts), the contracting party in the higher tier is responsible for providing the legal property description to the lower tier party upon request. While very infrequently employed, most contractors have the right to make a simple RFI and acquire this valuable information.

It is sometimes better to make this RFI before work begins, as you’ll be less likely to get a party’s cooperation after a dispute arises. And since there are strict time limitations as to when you can and cannot lien, it is valuable to have this information at hand while things are smooth.

If you do not have the ability to request this as per your contract, or if you’re unable to get the information for practical reasons, there are of course other ways to acquire a legal property description, including:

• Go to the county records office, and pull the Act of Sale for the property. This document will likely have the property description within.
• Use a service to acquire the legal property description. There are many online services such as www.HomeInfoMax.com. If you are filing a construction lien, companies like Zlien.com will draft the lien and acquire the legal property description for you.
  
• An attorney may have access to county or parish records to acquire this information.

Common Mistakes and Problems

Sometimes, finding a legal property description can be very difficult.

Depending on your location, the records of the county or parish may or may not be complete or easy to use. If your address is in an area that has been recently subdivided or sold, the legal property description might be “up in the air” or otherwise difficult to obtain. Finally, property on corners or with multiple addresses may be difficult to find.

In our experience, we’ve even encountered instances when the municipal address used by a property owner is not the actual or correct address of the property, and as such, not likely to lead you to a correct legal property description.

In short, you should be careful when acquiring a legal property description as there are many tricks to the trade and many pitfalls for the unwary. Legal property descriptions are very precise, and very fickle. Since the stakes are high (the validity or invalidity of your construction lien), pay close attention as to how you describe the liened property.