It's not all doom and gloom!

[fiege1224]

You should try Brazil. Where I have a condo on the beach. Just paying the dues ect is a real pain.

[London Guy]

Originally Posted by Ken E

You must have a lot of trust in your workers. Good Luck

It's no real problem. You have a main contractor who organises everything, keeps us informed of prgress and only gets paid when the work is satisfactorially completed - which is assessed by an independent inspector. The finished work will be signed off by us when we visit and before we make a final payment.

No more difficult than getting work done at home.

[equalrightsforeveryone]

Originally Posted by London Guy

Let me explain.
A lien release is a way to protect your self from future liabilities.

I want to make absolutely clear that I am not making any accusations here, the vast majority of contractors are honest folks that are just trying to make a living like everyone else.
How ever problems do occur some times.
As an example.
I the general contractor that you (as in anyone) hire takes your money, but does not pay his, sub contractors, material suppliers, laborers or any one else that does improvement on you property.
You as the property owner are responsible to pay those individuals and material suppliers, EVEN if you paid your general contractor in full.
Remember that everyone that has supplied labor or materials to improve your property has LIEN Rights
And you as the property owner are responsible to pay them.
A LIEN Release is a legal document that states the the material suppliers and subcontractors are paid in full every-time they receive a progress payment. In other words everything is being paid.
Before you make any payment you should have a detailed bill, what the payment is for and who is getting paid accompanied by Lien Releases for those individuals.
It is a very simple process and sounds much more complicated than it is in actuality. I have supplied Lien releases To my clients on many of the jobs that I have done over the years and it is not a big deal.

Now as said before your contractor is probably a good person and a reputable contractor and I am not saying that there is going to be any problem.
But the only way to make sure and cover you Behind is by having Lien Releases for Progress payments in hand for everything you make payments on.
This is very important and many times over looked, because it's the only way to legally protect yourself from any surprises in the future.
Better safe than sorry
Good luck If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

[faithfulFrank]

Originally Posted by equalrightsforeveryone

Let me explain.
A lien release is a way to protect your self from future liabilities.

I want to make absolutely clear that I am not making any accusations here, the vast majority of contractors are honest folks that are just trying to make a living like everyone else.
How ever problems do occur some times.
As an example.
I the general contractor that you (as in anyone) hire takes your money, but does not pay his, sub contractors, material suppliers, laborers or any one else that does improvement on you property.
You as the property owner are responsible to pay those individuals and material suppliers, EVEN if you paid your general contractor in full.
Remember that everyone that has supplied labor or materials to improve your property has LIEN Rights
And you as the property owner are responsible to pay them.
A LIEN Release is a legal document that states the the material suppliers and subcontractors are paid in full every-time they receive a progress payment. In other words everything is being paid.
Before you make any payment you should have a detailed bill, what the payment is for and who is getting paid accompanied by Lien Releases for those individuals.
It is a very simple process and sounds much more complicated than it is in actuality. I have supplied Lien releases To my clients on many of the jobs that I have done over the years and it is not a big deal.

Now as said before your contractor is probably a good person and a reputable contractor and I am not saying that there is going to be any problem.
But the only way to make sure and cover you Behind is by having Lien Releases for Progress payments in hand for everything you make payments on.
This is very important and many times over looked, because it's the only way to legally protect yourself from any surprises in the future.
Better safe than sorry
Good luck If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

Good, well written, helpful post.

[rikoshaprl]

Good advice Equal. I was not aware of that problem.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by rikoshaprl

Good advice Equal. I was not aware of that problem.

It can always be a problem but was an enormous issue during the bust immediately following the boom. It was also a problem for the banks because the general contractors and developers were taking their draw and not actually paying their subcontractors, suppliers, etc. People were having a home built and strangers were walking in and taking stuff right out of the house, like lumber, appliances, etc., because they weren't actually paid for.