OMG, I froze when I read your post. We were served lien papers yesterday. Our contractor is not done either. In fact our contractor still has 4 more months according to our contract. What is going on with these guys. In our case we are going to sue him as he has been inept since day one.

I think he knows what's coming as he asked us 2 weeks ago to sign papers releasing him and subs from all building defects and problems. Is he crazy? Of course we refused,and now this.

We pay him monthly and quit about 2 months ago until he fixes some HUGE problems.

I am sick about the whole thing. I am so thankful we found a good attorney.

I will be anxious to hear the responses you get as I am in the same boat. In fact was going to post a question here myself.

Lawyer up.
You may even be able to have him charged with slander of title for filing a false lien.

Is this illegal? I mean, how can he do this? Does he indeed have to be finished with the job before he can file a lien for nonpayment? This job was supposed to take 6 months and we started back in Jan 2006. We have never said "we are not paying you" or anything. We simply want the things that need to be fixed done right. He keeps saying this is warranty work and he deserves the full payment now. In our eyes, if we paid them all of it, then he would take forever. We have to hold this money over his head or the work won't get done. Now he put a lien on the house like we are not willing to work with him. UGH!

Am I right this is not to be considered warranty work when he is still on the job finishing punch out stuff? To me, warranty is something after the job is completed and paid in full. Putting a deck on top of a septic should not be considered warranty work. My thought is he is trying to word it as warranty work because then he can say the job was complete.

Sandy

As brickeye advised, lawyer time, specifically one who specializes in residential construction contracts.

thundersweet--
I feel for you so much. As I see it right now contracting is the last refuge for crooks. We have so many issues with our home and the fact that it sits unfinished is beyond me. I hope for your sake you have a good lawyer. I think we both need one.

Maybe these guys are brothers separated at birth.

Our builder is already being sued by another homeowner and just lost a suit to another. I guess there is a little peace in knowing we are not alone.

Not enough peace though. I wish I had known this before.

Everyone in my family always tells any contractor, roofing, remodel etc. that we will require a lein release prior to final payment. It's probably not unusual to have a lein if you will owe contractor. I am sure they have horror stories too about not being paid. I have an uncle that got his roof re-shingled and the contracter put a lein on his house for the singles for his house and 3 others, I guess less paperwork,also I think he ,contractor took out credit with his supplier and used lein as"credit". My uncle ended up paying for all those other singles since the contractor went out of buisiness. (probably just under a new name)

****tell them you will require a lein release in writting before final payment****

Is there a way to find out ammount of lein, I don't know.

At this point, I'd be more concerned about the deck on top of the septic than I would the lien. Is the deck at a height where the septic can be serviced easily? What if you have problems in the future........will the deck have to be removed in order to replace the tank? If the deck is low, were service panels installed so the septic can be pumped?
If the county doesn't show a lien, then there isn't one. I would call the county again just to make sure the person you talked to knew what they were doing.

Don't pay any more money until the problems are resolved. I don't know what the dollar limits are in your area for small claims, but you may end up in small claims court.
It happened to us during a dispute with a roofer. We won and part of the settlement was that the lien he placed had to be removed.

Again, lawter up!

Out here, patio's, porches, outbuildings, decks,etc have to be a minimum 15' from the septic tank and 10' from the leach field. Your deck sounds illegal as heck and should be addressed along with the contract battle by a lawyer.

If your decking placement isn't illegal, then common sense dictates as annz stated that your septic could at some point need servicing and should never have been placed there.

The deck post rest directly above the tank. If we need to have it serviced, they can get to it. If it needs replacement, then I guess it would have to be taken down. It's a second story deck. Their idea is to do a canteliver system to get the post off the tank. Not even sure what this involves. The contractor is coming tomorrow to show us pictures. We asked that it be extended so that no post were on the septic tank itself. They are refusing to do anything but cateliver it. He says it's an anhancement! He also says it is very unlikely that it will need replacing before the deck needs to be replaced. That's probably true but you never know. He is saying that the Georgia Right to Repair Act, allows the contractor to take fair and reasonable steps to resolve such items.

The deck has always been a major concern and reason for holding the final payment.

Thanks for all of the advice!

Sandy

From the history you've given us, I wouldn't let him attempt a cantilever on a second story deck. If done correctly I'm pretty sure it'd cost more than he'd ever want to spend on it.
I'd start collecting data, taking lots of pics and bring in an independent inspector. Before bringing in the inspector, ask him if he'd be willing to go to court if it comes to that. Our inspector went with us to court, but the judge never called on him. All our documentation was enough for the judge!

Is this job being inspected by the city/county? It's hard to believe this has gone on for over 2 years!

Have you checked your county court records to see what his track record is with the court system? It would be interesting to see if he has been involved in any suits and in what capacity. Is there a way to search the records of your county (and surrounding counties if he does work there) by the name of the individual or organization filing the lien? Depending on how his business is established, he could have filed the lien using his DBA or another legal name he uses for his business.

This guy sounds like a real peach.........(sorry, couldn't resist).....As others have wisely suggested get an attorney and let them deal with this guy.

I've included a link to the FTC's website regarding consumer protection and home improvements.

Here is a link that might be useful: FTC Consumer Protection

I wouldn't worry too much about the Lien (unless you are going to sell or refinance soon). In your state in order for a lien to be valid, the contractor has to file the lien within 90 days of the completion of the work - there is no limit on how soon it can be filed. So he probably just filed it to protect himself in the event of a prolonged dispute. He can wait up to a year to actually file a lawsuit. The lien merely serves as security if he wins a judgment against you in court. So don't worry about the lien, just try to get the dispute resolved. P.S. it sometimes takes a month or two for the Recorder's office to have a record of the filing so just because they don't show it yet, doesn't mean it wasn't filed.