Tips For Avoiding Construction Liens NY Area

By Deborah Howard


Whenever one owes another a debt and that person holds their debtors property legally, that is what is called a lien. On matters to do with construction liens NY area, they occur in cases where the contractor has not been paid their dues and yet they have completed their work. Subcontractors also have this right in the case that they have not been paid by the contractors even when the contractor was already paid for the work.

It is very important to avoid liens because they come with their own set of disadvantages. For instance, when a lien has been placed on your property, the bank cannot lend you money to refinance it. In addition to this, buyers will find out about the lien when doing valuation and avoid your property and mortgage companies may even decide to declare a default on the loan and repossess the property.

For the reasons above, liens are not the best thing. Among the legal requirements when starting up a construction, is putting up the notice which needs to be done by the contractor. In the notice, you will get information such as the costs, type of work expected to be carried out and other important information related to constructions. This information is then given to the local clerk and filed. After completion, the contractor then files an acceptance and this is what gives them authority to do a lien in case there are unpaid dues owed to them.

The contractor is normally given 60 days from the substantial complete date to file a lien for non-payment. The notice is what acts as a lien. You as the contractor should follow up and make sure that the acceptance has been signed. This only happens after all the funds and payments related to the job have been satisfied.

On the part of the project owner, one needs to protect themselves. One of the ways to do this is to have a clause in the contract indicating that when one authorizes a lien, they will be responsible. This means that the bills will be upon them and they will also take matters that will deal with unknown liens.

When you authorize work, ensure that you personally pay for it. All purchases need to be receipted and filed also. In case you are concerned about property that first gets to the contractor or subcontractor before getting to the site that is not subject to lien.

You can also protect yourself by asking that the contractor and suppliers sign a lien waiver. In this agreement, they will state that there are no unpaid dues and as such, they are satisfied and cannot file any liens on your property.

Those are just a few of the tips that can help you avoid liens. It is important to get the help of professionals in dealing with issues related to the lien when they occur. These are the people who will free your property. Note that leaving a lien issue unresolved affects as much your credit score, which means that it should be avoided regardless of the cost at which you will do it.




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