ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion how to deal with over due invoices

Escrow is also state by state. I have never lived in an escrow state. You get a title search and that comes with insurance (basically O&E for the title company), beyond that off you go. How liens are cleared is also going to be state by state. In some places, you may still be going after the original homeowner, in others you may still standing in line when the money runs out with no recourse.
This is why you really need to ask your attorney what you can do in your area.

But it always boils down to a deeper pockets issue Greg,i've a collection agency akin to the Canadian Mounties @ 49%, and any serious legality i've pursued usually cost me 4 digits just to gain an attorney's attention....

As an aside here, i had an older inspector a while back inform me he wouldn't sign off a final , if i told him the $$$ was tied up

Possibly a small piece of confidence, eh?

~S~

Greg is correct.

A lien is a notice of a claim. To make the claim valid one still must go to court.

However, most lenders HATE liens and during the construction phase the property must be kept lien free because they insist.

If the homeowner has zero equity and loses the house at forclosure you're left with an unsecured claim -- but a claim none the less.

Unlike the mortgage your claim has legs and can follow the debtor.

Again, it means a lawsuit ( small claims ) and judgement. Then the court order becomes of record -- commonly hitting the local small business oriented newspaper.

Ages ago my Dad was Chairman of the Homeowners Association for a planned community. No one was poor. Yet deadbeats ( lawyers, doctors ) abounded. He filed suit against them. Comes Monday morning and these fellows ( lawyers ) are scanning their favorite publication. Lo and behold: their fellow attorneys were hard up for $75 in homeowner dues! Time for a friendly phone call -- Harry may need a hardship loan. Phones were ringing all over town. The checks flowed in pronto.

When your dead beat friend finds that he can't escape the consequences from stiffing you -- a check may indeed come in the mail.

Greg is correct.

A lien is a notice of a claim. To make the claim valid one still must go to court.

One can file a ML for $5 or so, book, page #, at the local town hall

Next, one needs to 'perfect' the claim in court

and that becomes a matter left up to the court

~S~

Unlike the mortgage your claim has legs and can follow the debtor.

yes Tesla

in fact one can register any one judgment against one individual's multiple properties


but the plot can thicken


i've just had my 2nd customer go to jail here in the past few years (can i pick 'em, or what?) , and come to find out they premeditated all their worldly possesions over to their kids in a trust fund


nice , eh? they're getting 3 squares on the inside, i'm still fighting for mine on the outside....

~S~

Maine had the highest proportion of empty housing stock, at 22.8%. Other states with gluts of empty houses included Vermont (20.5%), Florida (17.5%), Arizona (16.3%) and Alaska (15.9%).

from>>>

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/28/real_estate/us_housing_vacancy_rates/index.htm

honest to gawd, it's getting to be like that lame 'life without people' show in some of the gated communities here

~S~

It is really only obvious in the winter time. In the summer most of coastal Florida is "life without people" anyway.

but.... our entire shtick is winter , snow bunnies , fake casts by the fire, etc

~S~

Never let a job payment turn into an unpaid invoice collect the payment on the spot cash cleared approved check or credit card with an approval you are an electrical contractor not a bank

Every service or installation company that comes to my house wants payment up front some even ask for payment before they make the service call

Some electricians are afraid to ask for payment, they may be better off as an employee

Another mistake is working T&M on residential jobs
No customer wants to.have someone doing work for an unknown price
T&M will always create problems when it comes time for payment

Learn how to price all work up front