mechanics' and materialmen's liens

mechanics' and materialmen's liens

Statutory liens granted in some states to specifically describe persons who provide goods or services contributing to the improvement of real property under a contract with the owner or the owner's representative,such as a general contractor.Such a lien will attach in favor of subcontractors even if the owner paid the general contractor,but the general contractor did not pay the subcontractors.It can take priority over a mortgage if the work was started before the mortgage was recorded, even if the lien document was not filed until after the mortgage was filed.Most statutes grant a very short time after nonpayment for the lien documents to be filed,or the lien will be lost.After that,one claiming under the lien must promptly take steps to foreclose the lien,or it will be lost.Property owners may protect themselves in some states by posting notices of nonresponsibility on the property, advising all subcontractors and vendors that they must look only to the general contractor for payment. A commercial service (Wallace W. Lien, P.C.) provides access to the lien laws for all 50 states at its Web site, www.lienlaw.com.