Home Improvement Contractor - Licensed Contractors

A lien will be place on my home after my contractor failed to pay the carpet guy. Is this right I paid my bill?

My contractor set a price for my basement. I paid this off and he came back and told me he needed 10 000 more. I told him no way. 2 weeks later the carpet guy told me he was planning to place a lien on my home because he had not been paid by the contractor. I explained that I paid my contract and it included the price of the carpet. How do I go about fighting this??

Public Comments

1. It's time to call a lawyer. From now on, pay all of your subcontractors directly.
2. How do you go about fighting it? In court. Hire an attorney in preparation for any action on the part of the carpet guy, and make sure your attorney has a copy of the contract you made with the contractor and your proof of payment. If there's legal action, it's very likely that that your attorney will be able to get all of his fees from the contractor.
3. Yes it's right.It's going to start a long legal process because you had a bad contractor.
4. The only way to prevent the carpet guy putting a mechanics lien on your home is to pay him. Your best bet, probably, is to sue the contractor for the amount that you paid him and he didn't pay to his sub. I'd also, before you do that, call and make sure all other subs (electrician, drywaller, painter etc) got paid so that you don't have to repeat the process. Mechanics liens exist specifically so as to give a contractor leverage in cases like this. I understand your position - after all, you paid your bill, and it's not your fault your prime didn't pay his - but that's just the way it is. Richard
5. If your contractor did not pay the carpet guy, the only way the carpet guy will get paid is by placing a lien on your house. It is not his fault that he put the time and material into your home and did not get paid for it. An attorney for you might be able to talk down the amount, but not completely absolve the cost. You should also check with the other construction and material people to make sure they have been paid because they can file liens on your home if they have not been paid. Sorry.
6. These are called Mechanic's Lien or Construction Liens. You really need to consult with a Construction Lein Law Attorney or Construction Advocate Attorney. That's the only way to remove the lien if this guy follows through on this.
7. You are going to have to sue him if you cannot work it out otherwise. It is probably over the small claims court limits. You may have to get an attorney. We withheld part of the money 10% of the contract until the job was totally done. We did have a lien put on the house by the electrician. The contractor paid him and then we paid the contractor. Good luck!
8. You paid the agreed upon amount. It is now all between the carpet guy and who he hired. I went through this bull. What they bank on is people being afraid and they pay. You got shady people all of the way around. They are in cohoots and have a slim profit margin. Standard practice. You tell that original contractor that you are not going for it. You can sue his butt off and contact people that will investigate his business license. So now let's add in the IRS and such. The sub? Same. But you add in immigration if applicable. Add in a judge will see through all of this.... you paid a guy to do something. Basically it is a "you just dare to bring this to court" as you are not to be intimidated. A lien? You would not have to pay that until your house is sold. They bank on people not realizing that. In my case I went to town and what happened was they were ordered to give me all of my money back. The contractor lost his bond. The sub had to fire many because they were illegal or did not have proper licenses from the main boss.