[RGCarr]

I need to do my first lien. It's a long and drawn out story where the property is owned by an LLC, and their agent, who was living on premises, contracted us to do work, which we did and $50K later the LLC Manager says that since he didn't explicitly ask for the work he's not going to pay for it. (Even though we have signed contracts from the agent and other owners.)

So we decided to put a lien, especially since they're trying to sell the property. Two things. One, I just want to make sure is that all I do is bring my notice to file lien form to the County superior court, and pay for the filing. Two, the "manager" of the LLC (The one who refuses to pay) alternates his time between Vermont and Hawaii. The girl at the court house told me that the sherrif has to give him a summons, so if he's out of state, do they find him? Or do we have to pay extra for that or are we just SOL?

[Dale Wiley]

Pleassssse tell me you got a deposit..and you have a signed contract....and please tell me you got some progress payments

if there is 50K at stake, I am hauling to my attorneys office and have him sue every one including the dog and cat if they live on premises.

Get the lien filed. We have specific procedures we have to go through in tis state before the contracts are signed to even be allowed / eligible to file a construction lien.

Get that lien filed and recorded ASAP so it shows up in any title search.

Good Luck.. hang the 's.

In our state, the court usually immediately finds for the defendants, because as far as the state, the general public, the judicial system, all contractors are low down no good dirty rotten , and he deserves to lose money because he was screwing the client in the first place.

[Forge]

Here in WA, the state must use, 'reasonable means' to track him down and deliver the summons. That usually means trying his last known address and place of work. Anything above and beyond requires hiring a messenger service yourself, especially if he is out of state.

If you have your lawyer taking care of it, then they should take care of getting the summons to him.

Good luck, the system definitely leans towards the defendant unless you got enough documentation to prove Elvis is alive and works at Sonic.

[Timber Lane]

Get a lawyer, then he'll put a lien on the property. It works, though you'll have to wait until the sale goes to closing to get your money. Besides being a landscaper, I also own a real estate agency and I've seen the liens work several times.

[Daniel Hanson]

I honestly think that the best thing that you could do in this situation if you want a quick resolution to this matter would be to find an attorney and send him or her after the deadbeat who owes you the money. A well written letter from an attorney is going to put somebody's ass in a pucker much faster than a lien notice. Hopefully you have all of the documentation and a well written contract that specifies that if you have to haul the client into court they are responsible for all attorneys and court fees. The problem with a lien is that you could be waiting a long tie for your money. If they are selling the property then your work that you are still owed for is being used as a selling point and that just isn't right. Don't wait for a lien to kick in. Go after what you are owed immediately and aggressively.... and if none of that works I have some great get-even tactics that won't necessarily get your money back but might make life miserable for the deadbeat and may make you feel a little better

[Robert T]

You have to talk to an Attorney. In my state of Indiana you only have 60 days after the work is completed to file a lien. I just had my first experiance with collecting money this past summer. I only lost $3100.00 took it to court and i lost because of a "technical error" I used a generic contract i found online. Long story short It didnt have an estimated completion date on the contract! So I loose! Now I have a contract that completly covers my butt, at least in Indiana. Good luck to you!