Lien Law Articles
October 19, 2009
Sue Malone Can you include interest in the Claim of Lien Form? This depends on your state, but in most cases you can. Your state will probably have a statute which describes the legal rate of interest for any unpaid amounts for a breach of contract, whether or not you are a contractor. Or, there can be a specific statute as to a mechanic's lien claim. In many cases this is in the neighborhood of 10%. Predominately, this is simple interest and not compounded. It is legally phrased as, for example: "10% per annum simple interest." Full Story
October 9, 2009
Manuel Davis Jr.Getting a Federal tax lien against your property is not a good thing and you need to deal with it as soon as possible. An IRS tax lien is when the IRS places a lien against your property for security against your IRS debt (to make sure you don't sell property without paying back taxes owed). Liens are bad for a number of reasons. You can not sell your property without satisfying the lien, you may not be able to secure further financing for cars, houses or other hard assets and of course, it does not look good on your credit report. A lien is the government's first hard ball tactic in collecting back taxes and should be taken seriously. Full Story
October 5, 2009
Sue Malone There is a misconception that once a mechanics lien is filed or recorded against the property, it stays of record indefinitely, similar to a grant deed or mortgage. This is not the case. Each state has their specific rule as to how long it stays on the property. For example, in California, the lien is only good for 90 days after recording. Before that time you must bring a lawsuit to foreclose or the lien becomes null and void. Please consult our web site to see exactly what the time periods are for your specific state. Full Story
September 30, 2009
Joanne Musa Recently someone asked me some questions that I think are on the mind of everyone who is thinking about buying tax liens. People want to know how much money they need to get started in tax lien investing and if this is something that they can use as their main source of income. In this article I will give my experience of what it takes to get started as opposed to how much money you need to invest in order to turn buying tax liens into your main income source. Full Story
September 25, 2009
Joe Cline In home building, the contractor is the brain behind everything: it manages the supplies, manpower and the building process from start to finish. It is with this very important role that the law has given a contractor a protection in a form of a mechanic's lien. In Texas, with a mechanic's lien, a contractor is guaranteed payments for labor and materials it provided in the event a buyer or homeowner has defaulted payment or has breached the contract. Full Story
September 22, 2009
Christopher Gullen Lawyers tend to have a pretty good grasp on the key tenets of their ethical obligations -especially dealing with "The 3 C's": confidentiality, conflict of interest and client funds. Review of decisions of ethics tribunals from around the country, however, suggest that there may not be as good an understanding of the attorney's duties to non-clients having an interest in funds that come into the attorney's possession. Full Story
September 16, 2009
Michael N Widener I've been reading long, gas-baggy recorded documents like Declarations of Easements and Restrictive Covenants for so long that my eyes instinctively roll back, revolting at their recognition of the familiar stack of paper. These instruments are particularly prevalent in shopping centers and office and industrial parks, and mixed use projects that incorporate varieties of commercial product types. They mandate owner maintenance and repair, cleanup after a fire or other casualty, insuring each lot's common area, and other assorted obligations pertaining to their respective parcels. Full Story
September 11, 2009
Wendy Pelosi Lenders and service providers can place a lien on an individuals property, which basically turns the property into collateral until any outstanding balance is paid in full. In the case of a mortgage the lien is termed consensual, especially for second mortgages. The term mechanics liens means financing for improvements to the property. Full Story