How can liens help you get paid?
If you are a contractor, subcontractor or supplier and do not get paid, filing a Mechanics and Materialmen Lien can potentially assist you with recovering money for the labor and materials you provided to a project.
How do liens work?
If you are within the class of persons that has the right to file a lien, a lien is a claim against real property because you have improved the property by virtue of the labor and materials that you provided to the property. Once a valid lien is filed, and it has been properly perfected, it creates a cloud upon the property and the owner cannot sell or refinance the property without addressing the lien in some fashion – bonding it off or paying the amount owed.
Can you lien all property?
No, you can only lien private property. You are not allowed to lien public or federal property. If you provided labor and materials to a public or federal project, most likely there is a payment bond in place, and you can assert a payment bond claim in order to recover the money that is owed to you.
Are there any deadlines?
Yes, the lien laws in Georgia are very strict and have very specific deadlines. Your deadlines and whether you have to provide any notices before you file a lien may be impacted by whether you have a direct contractual relationship with the general contractor or owner or whether you are what is called a “second tier party” such as a supplier to a subcontractor or a subcontractor to a subcontractor. Second tier parties have additional notice requirements that, if not satisfied, can destroy lien rights before they even accrue.
Can I file my own lien?
Absolutely, but it is not recommended. If one required piece of information in the lien is not accurate or the lien is not filed in a timely fashion, or in the right county, or any other aspect of the Georgia lien laws are not followed, valuable lien rights can be lost forever. There is very little forgiveness in the Georgia lien laws to correct an improper or untimely lien.
At Merbaum Law Group, David Merbaum has over 35 years of experience in the Georgia lien laws. Filing you own liens is not recommended and losing valuable lien rights by not using a properly qualified attorney to assist you can result in significant financial losses.
