Additional Work

red_cedar

Well, gave someone the benefit of the doubt on paying for additional work.
Now doesnt want to pay. I'll take it on the chin.
In the past I have almost always gotten things in writing, thought I was a pretty good judge of character. Lesson to be learned for me is buisness is business, always get it in writing.

Grumpy

What is their reason for not wanting to pay? How are they justifying their theivery? This has happened to all of us at one point in time.

Tell the guy that you are going to file lien yourself at the courthouse. Then ask him if it will be cheaper for him to pay you now or hire a lawyer to fight you later.

minnesotaroofin

Has anyone ever had to file a lien? I have a customer i did some windows for he paid me the down payment. but the final payment check did not clear do to account closed. the customers phone is shut off and is no where to be found. This property is a commercial property being renovated to be a coffee shop. where do i file the lien city, county, state? work is done and he owes $1400.00. i do have the pre lien notice in the contract he signed by state law requirement. I have found a couple of Mechanics lien statements just don't know who or where to file it. and what if i cannot locate the owner or the owner has had the property forclosed. I finished the job 2 weeks ago. Any help would be appreciated.

K2

I just spoke to an attorney down at the gym the other night and he said 85% of the liens in this state are thrown out because they are not filed correctly. Might be worth it to get a lawyer if it is your first one.

ProWallGuy

Call your lawyer, pronto.

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jmorgan

Liens are recorded by your county clerk/recorder. They are usually quite helpfull to you in completing the paperwork. Here in Utah, it is a form and we have 45 days, from the time of work completion to file, for mechanic liens. The lien will be on the property the work was done on. This means you might not get paid until the owner attempts to sell the property and a title search is done.
Jim

PipeGuy

Provided that you haven't failed to meet some contractual obligation regarding the assertion of claims for additional work, not having it in writing is no reason to accept non-payment as an outcome. If he directed you to do the work then you are entitled to payment-valuating the $$ of the work is what you have to work out. If you can document your costs then you can get paid. Contact an attorney that specializes in construction claims.

Tom R

No dis-respect meant from this end, - - but the attitude of "I'll take it on the chin" can be spotted a mile away from these kind of people.

No such thing in my book.

Probably why I don't have these kinds of problems.

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plumguy

I tried to file a "mechanical lien" years ago. I got such a run around from the girls in the court house... you would swear that all the local lawyers paid them to discourage the general public from having access. I left to no avail and they would not give out any info including where the exit was!! I would research it online I know there is a way to avoid paying a lawyer. In fact, the lawyer who defended that "innocent" football player OJ has a web site for low cost legal fees.. I think his name was Shapiro. If I think of his site I'll post it.

red_cedar

Thanks for the replies. I was feeling a little down when I wrote it.
Im not going to take it on the chin. I have never just taken it on the chin without a good fight. Have represented my self several times in 'small claims' sometimes against attorneys, trying to and most times collecting from theives.
I have filed leins in the past and may have to on this one. The part I like about the leins is you can serve the notice of lein yourself. No one likes a lein on the property, it has in the past speeding up the payment.
Basicly with out going into to much detail, the scope of the work changed from what the price given had involved. It required some additional work that he said go ahead. after he gets the bill, he freaks out a bit because the cost was much higher than he presumed.
Lesson to be learned for me is minimize surprises. Tell before hand, hourly rate and materials to be used.
Tom R, you are right, there are people who will try to prey on the perceived weak.
My thoughts on this have been leaning towards the uncivilized part of me.
Thanks for listening.

Red

minnesotaroofin

yes, I appreciate the help as well. I do have all in writing and pre lien notice is in contract. i will try county clerk see if this gets me anywhere before i pursue legal representation. My local supplier also says they can help with process. they already got paid but they know me well and vice versa.

ProWallGuy

Do I smell a change order?

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red_cedar

In the past, I have used 'Additional Work Authorization'. forms. This one wasnt that big of a deal, The homeowner prior to the job says, if something comes up I will pay for it. I asked his carpenter if he was good for it. His reply was he is more than good for it.

For me, a lapse in reasonable, correct judgement.



Wanted to add this, I want to remember that I heard from an attorney, that one could 'move' on the lender or the actual entity that holds title to the property. presuming of course the homeowner does not.
If I do file the lien, I plan on finding out who the lender is to the home and possible the lender for the construction loan and forward them a copy of the lien as well. Also send it to some credit reporting agencies. As well as possibly pay to advertise it in the area paper. Then, allow my uncivilized part come out some. Im a little pissed about this.
Lower my guard some and extend some trust and look what happens.

red_cedar

For all who has concern over liens.
The answer is YES, the lender or title holder can be brought in. So you realy not need to concern yourself to much with the actual person who is trying to steal from you.

Confirmed this little tidbit this morning with an attorney.

Mike Finley

Red - Why not just use a change order? I simply don't understand not taking the extra 60 seconds to pull out a change order and just write it down and have him sign it. You spent at least 10-20 times that long discussing what need to be done with him didn't you? Why not just got the extra 5% and get it in writing? I make the work done on a change order payable immediately after it is completed, this keeps the client writing checks and not getting in too deep like yours did at the end when he got hit with a bigger bill then he expected.

AaronB.

When someone says that they arent going to pay, I look them in the eyes and ask very politely "Are you sure?"

I have only been badly stiffed once, but by filing in time, the property owner had to, by law, stop all payments to the GC.

I am collecting next week. The lawyer cost $750.00, but I am getting my 8,000.00. I do have a contract clause for court costs, and attorney's fees, but will have to file a lawsuit for the 750.00 and go to court probably twice or more. This I will not pursue.

If the balance due is 750 or greater, I will pay the attorney to get the money back for my own satisfaction.

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red_cedar

Well, I went ahead and put a mechanics lien on the property tonight.$40.00 + $1.00 for a copy to hand deliver.
Over the course of the last week, I gave the homeowner choices,
1. Mechanics lien.
2. pay undisputed amount and go to arbitration, mediation or small claims for
the balance. Work it out ourselves.
Homeowner chose to send a check for he wanted to pay and put paid in full on it. Of course this was not acceptable so I followed thru with choice #1
Now I have to send a copy to the bank that has his house loan, to make them aware that improvments to the property are not being paid for. When I move on enforcing the lien I will involve the bank.
The people did not seem to be very happy, both husband and wife were there. I asked the local Police to chapparone to avoid and minimize a situation and also to collect my advertising metal sign. If that was gone or damaged I would have filed a complaint.

noreast05

This sucks most of us have been there at some point in our time. Hope all pans out for you. Keep us posted on your results. Kick some A$$

Grumpy

What state are you in?

camas

I am not sure there is anything more hackneyed than builders getting screwed by change orders. They sell whole books about change orders - how to deal with, how to make (or at least not loose) money dealing with them. I am not being overly critical; I've made the same judgements and done the same things. But it always amazes me how - myself included - keep getting worked over by circumstances of my our own making. Nail change orders down. Do whatever you need to do but figure out a policy and stick to it no matter what - the clients who like you will sign on because they like you, the others will at least cause problems before you have paid for them.

Also, liens and whatnot are fine. But your time is at issue here too. Representing yourself is not free - it's lost money you would otherwise be making if you where not negotiating a thicket of legalese and bureacracy. Opportunity cost and stuff - at some point, it becomes economical to take the hit and not ever, ever make the mistake again. Engaging this will, I would bet, cost you more than you stand to lose.