Hi all,was wondering if anyone here has had to do a lien recently.If so,was it worth it?How about cost?Is it necessary to hire a lawyer to actually have the lien executed?I have already put a “Notice” to lien on this property.I’m located in R.I. so if anyone here is from R.I. and has had to go through this process,how’d you make out.
Here’s what happened in nut shell.I was doing some work for restoration company that does insur. work.They do not work for the insur. company.(legally,I guess,the insur.co. recomends them,the HO need not use them)They get work from a few different insur. co.’s.I started doing work for them 5 yrs ago.Wasn’t bad,work came in handy during the winter.Some work in the summer.3 or 4, 5k $ jobs a yr average.What started out as a budgeted job w/price printed on work scope report after a 1- 1/2 yrs turned out to be time and materials.Not bad still,till the questions of time on certain jobs started coming.Had 2 in office heart to hearts about this and all I wound up doing was trying to defend myself rather than saying”this is the time..period”. Of course I end up ceding time to him and wondering how can I be that slow???? Actually,I’m not fast at all.But don’t consider myself slow either,I’m not out to impress anyone,but on the other hand,I work 10 hr days,work sat/sun and holidays if necessary.
This guy knows my work habits well,probably 1 of the reasons he likes me on the job.But for the last 3 jobs(emergencies one after the other) I’ve been telling him I don’t like the set up,time & mat.I don’t want to defend my time at the job.Lets get back to job costing(budget/estimate),if the figure looks good after I’ve looked over the job,I’m in,otherwise I’ll decline,no harm no foul.
Well,this last job I guess he didn’t figure very well,or plan well enough for and I wound up working a lot more hrs than he expected.Now,he knows the hrs I put in,he asks me 2 wks after the job starts how much longer and I tell him I’m doing the best I can,just put in 36 hrs this past weekend.He had an idea then that he’d be way over budget,but he didn’t say anything.
Well,at job end I give him the damage report and he says ok.Then he began the dodge and weave when I called the following wk. A wk later I figure the chk should be ready,it’s not and he’s not returning calls.I happen to see his truck at the office 1 day and decided I ought to stop and see him.He tells me he’s “upset”,that how could the job take so long,bla bla bla.I was getting pissed off and told him to forget 1 particular scope of work(a sub floor),write it off.Now give me a f*@#
chk and I’ll get out of your hair.Then I took off and was going to go get a chk the following day but decided to call him back and say,the hrs and mat. are this,and this is what I expect,no more no less.
Again,no calls to come get a chk and no return calls.So I called a lawyer to see about putting a lien on the property.He says I can do the “notice to lien” w/out a lawyer and maybe that will get him moving
but so far it hasn’t.I’m out the bal of the job,5K.
Oh yea,he called after the HO got the notice to lien.He was”really upset now”!Says he’s going to sue me,bla bla bla for talking to the HO about price.It’s what I had to put in the lien.I can’t believe some F#@& people.I’m out 5 grand and “he’s upset”.
Oh yea,when he was asking why it had taking so long,I said,Hey Dave,if you listened when I said I wanted to get back to our original agreement (re:budget,my acceptance or not)we would NOT be having this conversation.He say’s,”George I don’t have time to estimate this particular part of the job”.What a freak,he forgets I have asked many questions about his estimating software which according to him is a corporate standard.He’s showed me how it works,and like any other,you work up your unit pricing and put that final number any where on any G%$# dang printout you make.Or you exclude it,which is what he had been doing the last 2 yrs.
Then he says,ok,if you had taken a look at that job to get an estimate to do it what would you have come up with?I said I would’ve said about 4K. AND,I would’ve been out for my time,but I would not be bellyaching!
Anyway,I guess that nutshell at the begining of this post has capsized.
I need to know whether persuing a lien is worth my while.
Go ahead and lay it on me,I read enough of these posts to know what to expect.
Thanks for taking the time read through this post.
George C.
Replies
tune in to Duke's "estimate error ethics" thread which is along side yours
seems like the lien is a slam dunk to me
I'm not going to reread your post but the cynic in me says your agent has been scamming you, the homeowners and the company (ies) he represents - could he be middlemannig you and receiving payment from the homeowner of a very generous ins. payment then paying you your very reasonable invoice?
I realize not all ins. companies are so good and I've only dealt with one ( my own Safeco ) but I could not believe how detail oriented and respectful of me ( generous ) they were. This is over 30 + yrs, probably seven jobs - 3 over $40 grand each - two of which were totally spec ed by them and approved by me - by far the most profitable work I've done.
I'd put them on a par as teachers of how to bill work up there w/ our own Mike Smith, Jerry and resolute Floridian handyman whose name escapes me at this senior moment
you'll get a lot of moral support here!
John H.,thanks for the quick reply.Yes,I read this forum almost every day and by chance ran into 2 good threads in the bus. section.Unfortunately I don't read that one as often.That has changed.After reading "errors" and the other I decided to post.Actually I had wanted to post about it a month ago,but for whatever reason didn't.Anyway,I'm looking forward to getting some good direction/info that may help. Thanks again!
George C.
just read your reply and you stated you wanted to a month agodo not remember the particulars here in state of Washington but one month may be the window one has to file the lienget on it and best to you
I can't give you any information about the legal process, but I can make a suggestion, that is, to leave out some of the detail. What it boils down to is- you did the work at the request of the owners or their agent, and now is time for them to pay for it. Don't let anyone try to bog you down in the detail, keep to- "work done, payment due"
John
Thanks John,yes I need to work on "in the interest of brevity"(sp?),"just the facts mame",as Sgt. Joe Friday would say. John H.,in R.I. you have to put in a "notice to lien" no later than 120 days after job completion.That was done. George gimmemymoney Creamer
Just a recap and a bump to get this back to top.A restoration co. owes me dough.Anyone have any lien experience in my state or any helpful info? Appreciate all info/help on this subject. Thanks,
George C.