Have you ever hired a contractor to perform work upon your property, only to find out later that one of their suppliers or another contractor put a lien on your house? Or have you hired a general contractor to do work and learned that although you paid the contractor he didn't pay his downstream contractors or suppliers? You should know that in Illinois (and similarly in other states) that mechanic's liens can be recorded against property in order to protect the contractor or supplier's right to be paid for work or materials incorporated into real estate. What does it mean to be incorporated? It means "attached" or "utilized within" real estate, such that it is or is intended to be a permanent part of the property. If the work is not lienable, then a lien (even if filed) is no good to the party filing it, and it has no impact upon the person's real estate to which it attaches. However if a lien is correctly and timely filed, it can be a vehicle to force a sale of real estate in order to obtain payment on the amount owed. That's right - if you have a lien upon the property, the real estate can be sold to satisfy the amounts owed on the lien. Moreover, in certain circumstances the lien claimant can jump ahead of the mortgage lender and get paid before they do. While certain requirements must be met - it's possible. Each case is different, so you must have your case evaluated by a competent attorney before proceeding.
In Illinois, the mechanic's lien laws give a number of rights to the contractor or supplier and the rules are different depending on the contractor's role in the work being done (i.e. general contractor, subcontractor, supplier, etc.). Even more is that architects, property managers, demolition contractors, landscape companies and hardware suppliers may have lien rights as well. Basically, lien rights arise once work has been done upon the property and it may relate back to the date of the contract. A contractor or supplier has very strict timelines to record a lien, and as an owner, you may have rights if the lien is not timely recorded. Likewise if you are a contractor, you must follow the time limits in order to protect your lien rights. After a lien is recorded, there are certain rules to follow for an owner in order to force the contractor to "call his bluff" on the lien and you can force him to file suit on it for a court to decide the lien. You should work with a trusted attorney to help you on filing a lien, responding to one that has been filed against your property, or to determine what kind of work or materials are lienable - since not everything is.
If you are a contractor or supplier needing a lien or a property owner who needs information, please contact me for a free consultation on Illinois law. I can be reached at 312-720-0082 or via email at: alisalevin@yahoo.com.
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