Lien Worries

poolcrazy_2006

19 years ago

We just got a certified letter from Cemex the other day. It's called a California Preliminary Notice. It basically allows a contractor to keep their lien rights in case they don't get paid. It's not an actual lien. It even says at the top that this is not a lien and does not reflect the quality or integrity of a conctrator.

Well, all of our concrete was completed at the end of March (1st pour on March 24, 2nd on March 31st). Trusting my contractor, I paid him for all the concrete work. I mentioned to him before I paid him that I would like Lien releases once everything was done. I know, I know...I should have demanded it before I gave him the last check, but at that point he had gained my trust. He did other work for us before. I called him several times and he assured me everything will be fine and not to worry. He told me that they get these preliminary notices every once and a while and they never get them again. He told me big companies like Cemex hire a service to do these for them. He told me if there was a problem, he would give me whatever I needed. He told me they pay all their bills as they come in.

After several calls to Cemex and voice mails, I finally got a hold of someone to talk to. She was very nice and told me I could not request a lien release directly and would have to tell my contractor to request it. I then asked her if she could tell me if the bill was paid for the concrete they did at my house. She told me she could not give me any numbers, but she could tell me if it has or hasn't. She told me it has not. Now I'm worried.

My contractor has been in business since 2001 with no complaints and a AAA rating on BBB. I don't know if I'm jumping the gun because I'm not sure how contractors pay for jobs. I'm hoping they pay bills at month end and this will all go away. Anyway, just looking for some advice. Should I pressure my contractor? They keep on assuring me everything will be okay, but without a lien release I'm having a hard time relaxing.

Thanks,

-Dan

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Comments (7)

golfgeek
19 years ago
poolcrazy 2006,
Cemex is meticulous about sending the pre-lien notice to owners. Your contractor may have just gotten the billing for March. Wait until May 15 and call Cemex again.
Sub-contractors have a short window of time to file their pre-liens (It's 10 days as I recall). Don't worry until it's necessary!
poolcrazy_2006
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks golfgeek,

I appreciate the feedback. Gives me some peace of mind.

Thanks,

-Dan
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snookums
19 years ago
I got one of those from Kerber Brothers. Nothing else ever came after that.
cliff_s
19 years ago
Cemex is just trying to be sure they get paid. Contractors are very famous for not paying their bills. They love to collect the money from the customers then go out and spend it and forget paying their suppliers and soon they are bankrupt and customer is left holding the bag(so to speak). This is the reason for lien laws in most states.

Cliff s
richgator
19 years ago
proper procedure if you receive a Notice to Owner from a subcontractor or supplier would be to get a Lien Release from that sub/supplier before you pay the pool builder the next draw. the Lien Release lets you know that the sub/supplier was paid before you make further payments to the pool builder.
colt357_2004
19 years ago
Once every few years we have a builder cut and run. Leaving pools in various states of construction. As the suppier we have never filed a lein against the homeowner. Why punish the homeowner for our bad credit decision?
Recently a builder requested a lein release on a commercial job. He told our AR girl he had to have it to get paid at closing on the property. We couldn't do it. He had not paid for equipment. He paid it the next day. Amazing! He suddenly found the money...lol
Our AR girl wishes they all had to have lein releases.
poolcrazy_2006
Original Author
19 years ago
Took a little while and several phone calls, but I finally got the unconditional lien release. He kept on assuring me, but I told him I won't sleep good until I had that paper. I speculate on wheather or not they pay for past jobs with new jobs, but they did do a very good job and I got my release so I'm happy. I recommend everyone one ask their contractor to pre-pay and have them give you a lien relase upon completion before you make final payment, or you can stress out like I did :)

-D