Real Estate Agent Claims: Mechanic’s Liens Can Mess Up A Real Estate Closing

Although situated in Texas, the “We Did It Again Group” sells and lists property and property insurance in all 50 states, and even internationally.  Last week, they posted an article on their blog titled “Mechanic’s Liens Can Mess Up A Real Estate Closing!”

The author is speaking to property owners who are interested in selling their property, wherein he discusses how a lien works and what effects it may have on someone interested in selling property.

Because of the way lien laws work in most states, the We Did It Again Group warns that a “homeowner may actually end up paying twice for the same work.”

The author of the blog post has a great explanation of what types of situations a homeowner may encounter if their property is liened and they want to move forward with a sale or refinance:

The theory is that the value of the property upon which the labor or materials have been bestowed has been increased by virtue of these efforts and the homeowner who has reaped this benefit is required in return to act as the ultimate guarantor of full payment to the persons responsible for this increase in value. In practice, a homeowner faced with a valid mechanics’ lien may be compelled to pay the lien claimant and then pursue conventional legal remedies against the contractor or subcontractor who initially failed to pay the lien claimant but who himself was paid by the homeowner. Another justification for this result relates to the relative financial strengths of the parties to a work of improvement. The law views the property owner as being in a better situation to absorb the financial setback occasioned by having to pay the amount of a valid mechanics’ lien, as opposed to a laborer or material man who is viewed as being less able to absorb the financial burdens occasioned by not being paid for services or materials provided in connection with a work of improvement.

Get more information by reading the blog post here.

What does this mean for contractors?   As we’ve said before, when used properly, a construction or mechanics lien can be a very powerful collections tool.  Learn more about how you can lien smarter with Express Lien.

Virginia’s Payment Chain & Why It’s Important to Lien Early

By statute, the deadline for contractors to file mechanics liens on projects in Virgina is 90 days from the last providing of services or materials.  However, because of Virginia’s unique “payment chain,”  subs and suppliers should file their liens as soon as problems become apparent.

The “payment chain” rules can be quite complex, but its theory is simple:  The property owner must pay for the project only once.

In other words, if the owner pays the general contractor for work before a lien is filed, the lien against the property owner will fail.

So while the Virginia statues provide contractors with 90 days to file their liens, the practical deadline for filing a subcontractor’s mechanic’s lien is before the GC is paid.

What This Means
In previous posts (here, here and here), we’ve written about some mistakes contractors make when collecting on non-paying projects.  Over and over again, it seems contractors wait too long to file their liens, accept promises of future payments, and fear filing a mechanic’s lien to avoid staining relationships.

While in some states a small amount of delay is bearable, the “payment chain” in Virginia makes it deadly.

Across the United States, the best way to protect yourself from a non-paying project is to lien, and lien early.  The “payment chain” in Virginia makes this more the case.

Understanding the Payment Chain
While the theory behind the “payment chain” is simple, as with any other legal concept, the details are more complex.

Here are some questions that are often asked concerning this concept:  What if the property owner partially pays the GC?  How does this actually function in practice?   How do I know whether the owner paid the GC?  What rights do I have if I lien too late?

Fullerton & Knowles, a construction law firm in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wash. D.C. published a Construction Law Survival Manual on its website with answers to these questions.  You can find the particular discussion of the “Payment Chain” at this link.

Things You Can Do To Prevent Payment Chain Problems
The “payment chain” rules apply by default on every construction project.  However, there are features within the Virginia Code that subcontractors can use to bypass these rules.

The Code of Virginia’s Section 43-11 provides that by sending certain notices to the property owner and/or general contractor, the subcontractor can protect itself from a “defense of payment.”   In other words, by notifying the owner and contractor that certain materials or services were provided, the subcontractor or supplier puts the upper tier parties on notice that they deserve payment.

The require notices do require some administrative expense, however, as the code requires that 2 notices are actually sent.  Fuller & Knowles describe the notices and their benefits on its website, as follows:

First, a “Pre-registration” notice is sent to the owner and/or the general contractor before labor and materials are supplied to the project. After labor or materials are supplied, the claimant must provide a second notice with a statement of account and affidavit. The claimant supplying a subcontractor can elect to send the notice only to the general contractor. This will not obligate the owner, but will still obligate the general contractor. The potential benefits are:

1. The Section 43-11 notice can partially take the claimant out of the defense of payment system.  The owner and upstream contractors become directly obligated for payment, to the extent they are holding money at the time they receive the second notice and statement of account. The owner and general contractor essentially provide an involuntary guarantee or joint check agreement after receipt of the second notice.
2. A Section 43-11 notice will probably also provide priority over other mechanic’s lien claimants. In a “partial defense of payment” situation, the 43-11 notice claimant can take the entire fund held by the owner and general contractor. Other mechanic’s lien claimants will receive nothing until the 43-11 claimant is paid in full.
3. There is also an extended deadline for the Section 43-11 claim second notice. A claimant may still have Section 43-11 rights, even after the deadline for mechanic’s lien filing. A claimant probably also still has Section 43-11 rights, even if the claimant has waived lien rights.
4. It is way to avoid problems and legal fees altogether. If the owner and general contractor know they may become obligated, the claimant is likely to receive payment without legal assistance. The owner and general contractor are aware of the players on the project and are motivated to see payments properly applied.

Express Lien Can Help
Express Lien files mechanics liens in the State of Virginia, as we also prepare and send all Virginia construction lien notices.

Fuller & Knowles state that the 43-11 notices are underutilized by contractors because of administrative expense.   Quite frankly, its also because the notices are confusing, and in the middle of operating your construction company it’s difficult to keep up with sending, tracking and managing these notices.

Express Lien solves this problem.

You give us the project data, and our propriety web-based software recommends certain notices and documents, and with the click on a button we’ll prepare these documents, send them for you, track them, and manage them through your client login panel.

Give us a shot, and let us show you how to Lien Smarter.

An Owner’s Perspective on Liens

We frequently post about construction liens from a contractor’s perspective – who are clearly interested in figuring out ways to qualify for the filing of a lien.

What we rarely comment upon is an owner’s perspective, who are concerned with the opposite:  figuring out ways to condemn a lien as improperly filed.

It’s important for those who usually file mechanic’s liens to step back and consider the opposing viewpoint.   There is some value in understanding that upon receipt of a lien, an owner’s will likely have the instinct of wanting to fight it as improper or unfair.

When lien laws are drafted, they are drafted with protection for property owners in mind.  And when contractor boards and other regulatory agencies commit time to lien laws, they are usually focusing on educating the public (i.e. property owners) on what they can do to prevent liens.

A December 2008 article from the Daily Journal of Commerce in Portland, Oregon, stands as an example of this.  In the article titled “Five Questions to Ask About Liens,” the author goes through five questions owners should ask when faced with mechanic’s liens to determine their rights on proceeding forward.

This is not a rare example.   To the contrary, regulatory agencies across the nation who regulate contractors focus a great deal of effort on helping owners understand and overcome improperly filed construction liens.  See the page for Department of Labor & Industries in Washington, or the Contractors State Licensing Board in California.

If your company does wind up filing an improper mechanic’s lien and its disputed by the property owner, a loss in court could require your company to pay penalties, attorneys fees and more.

The point?   It’s important to understand the lien laws in your jurisdiction, and avoid making common errors and mistakes.

Andrea Goldman, a construction attorney in Massachusetts, publishes a great blog about this very issue titled:  Home Contractor v. Homeowner.  She frequently posts on issues that surface in home construction between the property owner and contract that results in litigation or arbitration.

With all of the work across the nation from regulatory agencies attempting to stifle improperly filed mechanics liens, Andrea notes in her blog that mechanic’s liens are so powerful of a collection tool for contractors that even an improperly filed lien can yield non-payment.

In her post the “Strength of Mechanic’s Liens,” Andrea states as follows:

Even if the lien is not done properly, one still has to file an action in court to dissolve it, which requires paying legal fees that are frequently not recoverable.

And regardless of your position on the subject (as a property owner, contractor or regulatory board), and regardless of how right or wrong your position may be, Andrea’s point is clear.   Mechanic’s liens are powerful instruments, and even when they are filed with technical defects, they cause parties to consider the debtor’s claim and contemplate a resolution.