Construction Lien, please help !!

I think you misspelled something, dont you mean Lean? never heard of Lien before. the word does not look right, looks misspelled

GoodFellaz wrote: ↑I think you misspelled something, dont you mean Lean? never heard of Lien before. the word does not look right, looks misspelled

It's lien.

GoodFellaz wrote: ↑ I think you misspelled something, dont you mean Lean? never heard of Lien before. the word does not look right, looks misspelled

Spelling is fine...

What Is a Lien?
A lien is a claim or legal right against assets that are typically used as collateral to satisfy a debt. A lien could be established by a creditor or a legal judgement. A lien serves to guarantee an underlying obligation, such as the repayment of a loan. If the underlying obligation is not satisfied, the creditor may be able to seize the asset that is the subject of the lien. There are many types of liens that are used to secure assets.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lien.asp

How long ago was the work done?

Also, is it an official Lien or is just a notice that its coming?

Have you spoken with your contractor about it? Do you have a written contract that was agreed upon and a payment schedule?

Something seems off here..... unless this happened a while ago?

BestSell3 wrote: ↑ We did basement renovation and we received a construction lien as the contractor increased the payment by 33% while never saying about this before the invoice.

I have some basic questions, really appreciate to receive help, thanks !!!

1. How do we reply to the construction lien, do we send in registered mail to the lawyer that mailed the lien to us?
2. How long do we have till we need to reply?
3. Is the reply should be "statement of defense"?
4. Where and how can we get updates related to the lien or anything related to this case. (Is the only way to wait for registered mail from his lawyer)?


Thanks !!

I'd start with posting a location. Different jurisdictions have different rules.

C

Thanks you

We located at Niagara
We received the lien 40 after the work was finished

Does any one has an experience with this, so i can PM him what we received to tell us if this a construction lien?

Thanks

BestSell3 wrote: ↑ Thanks you

We located at Niagara
We received the lien 40 after the work was finished

That seems almost too fast to put anything official in place, although the dead line is about 45 days iirc. Did you tell him you weren't paying him the extra right away?

Also, as per my above post, can you contest the lien amount by showing a signed contract and payment schedule? Or did you agree to T&M or something else in writing?

We have written contract and we "changed things" but we never knew it is a change of the contract and he will charge us extra, if we knew, we will never agree.

For example
1. He wanted to put regular drywall in the shower (wasn't specified in contract what drywall to use) and i asked isn't green required, so he put the green one, and now he asks for extra 1,500$ (in contract we never said what drywall).
2. He should have put vinyl floor but we asks if we buy tiles is ok (he said yes, we even bought smaller one as he requested), we did and never knew it is a change and cost extra.

Thank you so much !!

BestSell3 wrote: ↑ We have written contract and we "changed things" but we never knew it is a change of the contract and he will charge us extra, if we knew, we will never agree.

For example
1. He wanted to put regular drywall in the shower (wasn't specified in contract what drywall to use) and i asked isn't green required, so he put the green one, and now he asks for extra 1,500$ (in contract we never said what drywall).
2. He should have put vinyl floor but we asks if we buy tiles is ok (he said yes, we even bought smaller one as he requested), we did and never knew it is a change and cost extra.

Thank you so much !!

You can start here:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/your-rights ... or-repairs

And there’s also contact information there so you can get some “official” answers. The wording of the contract, the estimates, other communications all might be important, and we can’t see any of that.

C

Something is not making sense here by your omissions..A lien is sent out when payment is not received.. So what did your original invoice state and did you pay the full amount, or did you reduce the amount to what you originally contracted for? Start from the beginning.. Did you receive a invoice, was the invoice for 33% more than agreed to by contract? Did you pay anything, nothing? Did you contact the contractor to dispute the invoice before you paid or didn't pay anything? How did you pay and when

You should also be concerned that if that lien has been filed with the court/municipality onto your house that you will encounter possible difficulties selling the house with a lien on it. Every perspective buy/realtor will do a lien search.

Title of the thread should be "I stiffed a contractor, and now they are pissed".

GoodFellaz wrote: ↑ I think you misspelled something, dont you mean Lean? never heard of Lien before. the word does not look right, looks misspelled

You got mixed up with the other type of construction lean; like the leaning tower of Pisa.

OP, read the link Cneufeld posted, from your post its not even clear if you received a letter from a lawyer threatening a lien or if one has been filed against the property. There is a lien process, not defending the action will allow the lawyer to easily get a judgement.
To be clear the contractor files a lien, then has to prove in court its justified (he is owed money)....the lien is removed in about 30 days if contractor doesn't file against you in court. That's from memory, best you research and probably get a lawyer.

cowbunpants wrote: ↑ Title of the thread should be "I stiffed a contractor, and now they are pissed".

Title could also read " ripoff contractor strikes again". Typical stuff for many of these "renovation experts"

OP, details are huge when you need help on this type of situation. Need everything from a to z.

DavidC363 wrote: ↑ It's lien.

Cool, all this time I never knew how it was spelled. I just heard them say "Lean" on Holmes on Homes

Can i PM someone the documents we received so they can tell us if it was registered in court and to whom should i reply with my statement of defense?