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I know....thats what we said.....how do we know if all the subs are listed......
I guess they asked the builder to give a list of all the subs on the property......then some went to my attrny and signed off and others the builder got......
I honestly dont know....it was the first we ever heard of this.....and I was told by my realtor this was something brand new.....all I know is the title co wouldnt insure the property unless this was done......
Not sure how you could look into it, but I just wanted to let others aware that it happened to us and could possibly happen again or more often......and to be honest I dont even know off hand the title company name.....I'd have to go thru the closing papers...
We even said to our agent who's to say all the names are present and who assures all the sigs are legit.....but eventually they got what they wanted....unfortunately at our expense....
I mean ultimately we love the house....its our dream home and are really happy we didnt have to go for another....which with all this we did find another over the weekend in case this didnt close, but we would have made concessions......its just sad.....we should have gotten in and enjoyed the home our first night and it didnt happen that way.....in the long run we're here but after alot of heartache and $......
This happened to us when we were closing on our new home. We found out the day of the closing that there was a lien on our home due to the builder not paying the subcontractors. It took us a little over 2 weeks before we could close on our house. Recently, we were included in a lawsuit from one of the contractors that apparently wasn't paid and I hope the builder takes care of this, because I don't want to be included in such mess. I've got to say, it definitely took away the joy and excitement of moving into our new home.
Typically the contractor should get a waiver of leins when he is making final payments to his subcontractors. This is pretty standard.
I wonder if the issue might be that he is sitting on a lot of inventory, paying a lot of carrying costs and not as solvent as he once was. So he may have been paying people at the last minute and the bookkeeper clearing the bills but the subs needing to sign immediately. I've learned the hard way to always give contractors at least a week with any paperwork because it usually travels from on end of town and back again twice.
Be grateful it worked out I have a friend who owns a design/buid business and a client forged documents that stated he had OKed the house for occupancy and was paid when the couple really owed almost 15% of the cost. So now there is a mechanics lein on the house, a suit against the owners, an upset bank that now realizes they cannot sell the home should anything happen and their closing attorney is in a lot of trouble for not verifying anything and posibly being in trouble with the insurance people.
So we closed on our home on Long Island last Thursday had our moving trailer already here in Clayton sitting in our new homes driveway, we drove all night trailing a uhaul and me following behind in our 2nd car, 3 kids, 3 dogs and 2 cats........anyways, we went to the walkthru after driving 14 hrs and then to closing which did not happen.....
We then spent the next 4 days in a hotel room and searching for a new home since we didnt know if we would get the home we thought was ours...
Here's the problem.......with the economy being what it is and the builders
having issues selling and paying their sub contractors which then the subs in return put leins on the properties prior to closing and or after the new homebuyers are in..........
So now title companies are requiring that all subs on the property in ? sign a lein waiver release which basically states that they are signing off on the property and will get paid when they do (which should be done obviously) or at closing....and that they wont put a lein on the builder/property.....
If this doesnt happen they wont close......this is what happened to us.....first off we didnt even know this was happening, up to the closing there were signatures coming in and one wasnt gotten until Monday afternoon, (even though we were supposed to close Fri @ 2pm)
I understand why the title companies are doing this since they will be the ones paying out if there are issues. but I just wanted to let other new hoe buyers know this.......ask your agent about it.......and if its needed haunt the hell out of them to make sure they have all the signatures in hand.....if they dont be careful, we could have stayed in our old home for 3 days with no expenses and now we are out over $1500.00 and none of it was our fault...
Nevermind we were so mad, and upset that when we finally got in the house we couldnt even enjoy it the way we should have....
I love my home and am sooo happy it all worked out, but this is what tied it all up......so please make sure and see if your title company is requiring this and then make sure its taken care of properly......
Sitting in a hotel room with 5 people and 3 dogs is no fun...(we lent out the cats to a friend for a couple of nights) thank god....Thanks Karen
Suzanne
This post is yet another example of why a good attorney who does his job well is far more valuable in a real estate transaction than an agent. The agent has you sign release of liabilty documents letting you know they have nothing to do with the legal aspect of the transaction.
Many people here do not like attorneys, but when it comes to real estate they are priceless.
all title companies are requiring long form lien waivers- where all the subs sign. the problem is, you're relying on the builder to get the subs to sign, and there is no guarantee that everyone has signed or everyone has been paid, until you find out after the fact and they file a lien. sad but true. there are some start up companies now that will work with builders from day one, keep track of all the subs, and then get up with the attorney at the end of closing to make sure everyone was paid and did sign, that way there will be some kind of reassurance.
as for ^^^^ who was included in a lien, it doesn't affect you. the title insurance company will handle it, but the sub names you in the suit because you now own the lot. its really between them and the builder. builder didn't pay them, they'll get a judgment and once judgments are granted, the builder won't be able to build anymore.
We're going through something similar. There are probably 30 or so houses out our way included in a lien, all closed since the summer. Now there is a lawsuit and I'm working with our closing lawyer to file a claim with the title insurance. Same situation with a subcontractor not getting paid. Its been a pain but I guess we are lucky to be in our home. I know title will cover it but still would rather not have to deal with all of this.
if the houses have been closed since the summer, they are probably bogus liens because after 120 days after the individual sub's work has been completed, the subs can't file liens anymore.
Last edited by angie313; 01-16-2009 at 12:17 PM..
Reason: .
if the houses have been closed since the summer, they are probably bogus liens because after 120 days after the individual sub's work has been completed, the subs can't file liens anymore.
Well the court case says differently. Our lawyer said they are within their legal right but it had to be filed before the end of the year. Now its just getting drawn out.
Oh gosh, Suzanne...I'm so sorry your start here was so bumpy. I can't even imagine how upset you were. I hope you can somehow recover the costs. And of course, I am very glad that it all worked out in the end.
Lauren
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