Founder's Blog

Due to a recent Janauary 12, 2010 WYOMING Supreme Court ruling, WYOMING’s Lien Statment and Amended Lien Statement in PreLien2Lien were updated with the following new text:

I, SIGNERNAME, having been duly sworn upon oath, do hereby swear to the truth and accuracy of the information set forth in this Lien Statement.

The WYOMING Supreme Court based its ruling on WYOMING STATUTES §29-1-301:

Statement of Lien, Contents, Notice
(a) In order to have a perfected lien pursuant to this title, a lien claimant shall file with the county clerk a lien statement sworn to before a notary public. The county clerk shall file the statement and index by date, name of claimant and property owner, and legal description.

Confusion has been rampant since the CALIFORNIA legislature passed revisions to the lien laws that were signed into state law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in August 2009. These changes DO NOT TAKE EFFECT until January 1, 2011.

To help property owners know right away that a lien on their property has been recorded, a new NOTICE OF MECHANIC’S LIEN will be required. It will require bold 10pt. text with a heading titled:

NOTICE OF MECHANIC’S LIEN

ATTENTION!

Additionally, to insure delivery of a recorded lien to a property owner, a new notice called a PROOF OF SERVICE AFFIDAVIT will need to be recorded along with the Mechanic’s Lien. It will be a one page notice that affirms the date, address, and name of the property owner that the Mechanic’s Lien and Notice Of Mechanic’s Lien were delivered to.

TRADITION SOFTWARE is launching TRADITION NOTICE SERVICES (www.TraditionNoticeServices.com) as part of an effort to better serve current and potential customers who would like an alternative for the lien recording process in the state(s) they do business in. Many of our PreLien2Lien customers use the software to do 1st notices or payment Waivers and Releases, but don’t want to go to a county Recorder or Clerk’s office to record a lien. Each month we get hundreds of sales leads from companies for our software. The most common reason people don’t purchase PreLien2Lien is not because they can’t use the software or afford to purchase it. It is because they don’t want to record a lien themselves. This is where TRADITION NOTICE SERVICES can help companies.

PreLien2Lien is used already by twenty (20) leading lien services across the U.S.. While
TRADITION NOTICE SERVICES will be competing against these lien services for new accounts, there is plenty of business for everyone without our company jeopardizing our great business relationships with our lien service customers that rely every day on PreLien2Lien.

TRADITION SOFTWARE’s national marketing expertise will be directedtowards promoting TRADITION NOTICE SERVICES online starting January 1st. An aggressive $150 price per recorded lien will be offered to all customers who sign a contract for services in 2010. A unique, partial money back payment of $50 will be offered to a customer who is not successfully paid within each state’s statutory time period for a lien to remain recorded.

The GEORGIA State Legislature passed several changes in state lien laws and corresponding notices that take effect on March 31, 2009. PreLien2Lien has been updated as follows:

1. The Print Menu explanation and Lien Reminder text has been changed from 3 months to 90 days for the filing deadline for a GA Claim Of Lien after the last day equipment, labor, materials or services are provided for a project.

2. The Print Menu explanation and Lien Reminder text has been changed to reflect that a GA Claim Of Lien must be sent to the property Owner by personal delivery or certified mail within 2 business days of the GA Claim Of Lien being recored.

3. The Print Menu explanation and Lien Reminder text has been changed to reflect that a GA Claim Of Lien must be foreclosed upon within 365 days after the GA Claim Of Lien is recorded. The old deadline used to be 12 months after the date the GA Claim Of Lien was due.

4. The Waiver And Release forms were all changed to 12 pt. bold face fonts with capital letters.

5. Both the Interim and Final lien waivers become unconditional and binding 60 days after the date of the waiver, even if a payment bounces or is not received as promised. The only recourse is the timely recording of Notice Of Nonpayment.

6. The word “Unconditional” was required to be removed from the final lien waiver.

7. Lien waiver now include the release of future bond rights in addition to lien rights.

8. The Notice Of Nonpayment was also required to be changed to 12 pt. bold face fonts with capital letters. Additionally, statuatory language in the notice was required to be changed.

9. The GA Claim Of Lien must include new statuatory language in 12 pt. bold face fonts regarding the statuatory deadline to foreclose on a lien. Additionally, statutory language must also be included that advises the property Owner of the right to file a Notice Of Contest Of Lien.

10. March 31, 2009 is the first day all the changes take effect. All old notices and corresponding legal requirements and deadlines remain in effect until March 30, 2009.

I am sure that there are well thought out intentions that make these changes beneficial for both contractors and property owners. I do have to question the excessive legislation on type fonts and bolding. While a legal document should certainly be legible to read, it should also be a professional legal document on the merit of its content, not the format in which in appears.

I admire companies that are leaders. Common traits they have include understanding and qualifying risks, not accepting the status quo, listening to customers and understanding the difference between features and benefits.

Even though I am a stauch PC proponent, I have become a big user of APPLE’s itune service. They broke out of the pack of companies trying to commercialize music downloads for money. I am very impressed with how Netflix seems to stay one step ahead of Blockbuster for online movie rentals.

One of TRADITION SOFTWARE’s 10 Core Business Values is leadership. “As a company, we will set the standard in our markets by having the best product, at the best price with the best customer service and technical support.”

This daily commitment has resulted in a significant new feature in PreLien2Lien which will benefit all users in 2009. The Lien Reminder (LR) system, co-developed by myself and Miriam Liskin, is a new part of the PROJECT tab, helping guide users towards significant state lien deadlines.

The first phase of the system will focus exclusively on private (Commercial and Residential) deadlines. As the year progresses, reminder capability will be added for Public jobs.

All PreLien2Lien2Lien users can benefit from using the Lien Reminder system. States with first notice deadlines like CA, AZ, MI (20 days), OH (21 days) NV (31 days), and FL (45 days) allow zero forgiveness to file a lien later on if the first notice is not delivered. The lien reminder system will calculate how many days you to deliver the notice from the first date equipment, labor, materials or services are provided to the jobiste.

Owners and General\Prime Contractors can shorten the lien timeframe by filing a Notice Of Completion. AZ, CA, NV and MA are just a few of the states that the Lien Reminder system will calculate the revised lien deadline when a Notice Of Completion recording date is entered.

Also, deadlines often are shorter for Existing\New Residential projects compared to Commercial projects. Several states, including AL, MO, NY, OH, TX and VA fall into this category.

I would like to see more of Laramie, WY than two brief overnight stays at the Holiday Inn off 30th Street that hosted me as I drove cross country on Highway 80 from Batavia, IL to San Jose, CA in 1992.

Thirty-five (35) WYOMING notices were entirely re-written in PreLien2Lien this month. They also have (CTT) Custom Template Technology, enabling each template notice to be customized for a one-time $50 fee.

Both General/Prime Contractors and Subcontractors in WYOMING have mandatory 1st notices they must deliver at the start of a construction related improvement. WYOMING Statutes § 29-2-110 mandate that a Notice To Owner must be served by the Prime Contractor or Subcontractor to the Owner within thirty (30) days after first furnishing construction related labor, professional services, materials, machinery, fixtures or tools to a jobsite. Furthermore, on all private (commercial or residential) projects where the General/Prime Contractor’s contract is for $50,000 or greater, WYOMING Statutes § 29-2-111 mandate that a Notice Of Right To Claim A Lien must be served by Subcontractor or materialman to the General/Prime Contractor within sixty (60) days after first furnishing construction related labor, professional services, materials, machinery, fixtures or tools to a private (commercial or residential) or public (city, county, state or authority) jobsite.

General/Prime/Sub Contractors (Private Projects):  WYOMING Statutes §§ 29-1-301; 29-2-106 mandate that you have 90 days (Subcontractors) or 120 days (General Contractors) to file a Lien Statement (Mechanic’s Lien) in the county at the County Clerks office where the project occurred after the last day labor was provided at a jobsite or materials were delivered. All legal parties must be notified by Certified Mail or personal delivery of the recorded Lien Statement. A Lien Statement must be perfected through a foreclosure action at the Superior Court in the county where the project is located within 180 days of the Lien Statement being recorded.

A change was made today in PreLien2Lien for NORTH CAROLINA that affects Subcontractors. Since they should be delivered jointly, the Claim of Lien On Real Property (Subcontractor) that is recorded is now combined with a Notice Of Claim of Lien By First, Second Or Third Tier Subcontractor/ Supplier (in essence, a Stop Notice of money from the funds source to the General Contractor.

Subcontractors (Private Projects): NORTH CAROLINA General Statutes §§ 44A-20(d), 44A-23 mandates that a Claim of Lien On Real Property (Subcontractor) be filed within one hundred twenty (120) days of last providing labor or materials for a project. It must be filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the project is located. The Claim of Lien On Real Property must then be enforced through a lawsuit within one hundred eighty (180) days of last providing labor or material for a project.

Delivered jointly with a recorded Claim of Lien On Real Property (Subcontractor) is a Notice Of Claim of Lien By First, Second Or Third Tier Subcontractor/Supplier. NORTH CAROLINA General Statutes § 44A-19(b) mandates that it be sent to the property owner and any other legal parties on the project (General/Prime Contractor, Lender, Customer. It does not need to be filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the project is located. There is no time limit to enforce through a lawsuit a Notice Of Claim of Lien By First, Second Or Third Tier Subcontractor/Supplier. The Owner or party owning the money for the project has an obligation to withhold payment to the General/Prime Contractor until the Lien Claimant’s payment is satisfied.

The VIRGINIA Memorandum For Mechanic’s Lien Claim (GC, Sub, Sub-Sub) notice was improved today. A good suggestion from a power user in PA gave us the idea to create separate data entry values for the Property Type and Legal Property Description. This update is included in V. 12.12.01 R.04.1911, available for download from the Software Downloads link of our website.

General/Prime Contractors (Private Projects): VIRGINIA Code Annotated § 43-5 mandates that a notarized Memorandum For Mechanic’s Lien Claim must be recorded by General/Prime Contractors no later than ninety (90) consecutive calendar days of last providing labor, services, equipment or materials at a project. It is recorded at the Clerk’s office of the Circuit Court in the city or county where a project you provided labor, services, equipment or materials is located.

Subcontractors (Private Projects): VIRGINIA Code Annotated § 43-8 mandates that a notarized Memorandum For Mechanic’s Lien Claim must be recorded by General/Prime Contractors no later than ninety (90) consecutive calendar days of last providing labor, services, equipment or materials at a project. It is recorded at the Clerk’s office of the Circuit Court in the city or county where a project you provided labor, services, equipment or materials is located.

Sub-Subcontractors (Private Projects): VIRGINIA Code Annotated § 43-10 mandates that a notarized Memorandum For Mechanic’s Lien Claim must be recorded by General/Prime Contractors no later than ninety (90) consecutive calendar days of last providing labor, services, equipment or materials at a project. It is recorded at the Clerk’s office of the Circuit Court in the city or county where a project you provided labor, services, equipment or materials is located.

If the weekend does not have great golf weather, I am usually on the laptop working in between my kids Saturday Roseville Youth Soccer games.

This weekend I just finished writing the new notices for the state of MISSISSIPPI. It is the 36th state to have it legal notices entirely re-written in PreLien2Lien. They also have (CTT) Custom Template Technology, enabling each template notice to be customized for a one-time $50 fee.

Subcontractors have it tough here – the right to record a lien is reserved exclusively for General/Prime Contractors. Also, unlike neighboring states there is no 1st notice law for Subcontractors to notify Owners of the future right to lien. You still have the option of sending a Preliminary Notice. It will improve your chances of being paid on a timely basis, as it notifies all legal parties of your future right to file a Bond Claim or Stop Notice in the event you are not paid on a timely basis.

General/Prime Contractors (Private Projects): MISSISSIPPI Code Annotated § 85-7-133 mandates that a Claim Of Lien can be filed only by the Prime/General Contractor who is in direct contract with the Owner. It should be recored with the Chancery Clerk in the county in which the project is located. It must be recorded no later than twelve (12) months after the invoice due date after providing equipment, labor, materials or services for the improvement of a project. A recorded copy of the Claim needs to be delivered promptly to the Owner and other legal parties (Owner Agent, Lender) after the Claim Of Lien is recorded.

Subcontractors (Private Projects): Anyone providing equipment, labor, materials or services who is NOT in direct contract with the Owner has to move aggressively when they are not getting paid. MISSISSIPPI Code Annotated § 85-7-181 mandates that in lieu of a Claim Of Lien, a Subcontractor on a commercial or residential project must deliver a Stop Notice to the Owner and General/Prime Contractor in order to stop payment of funds to the General/Prime Contractor owed to the Subcontractor. The Notice should be delivered in person or by Certified Mail to the Owner of the property and the General/Prime Contractor along with any other legal parties related to the improvement of the property (Customer, Lender).

I think a lot about my my first professional job out of colllege.  I drove frequently to MISSOURI for business trips there from 1988-1990.  Myself and my sparsely annoited Pontiac 6000 company car drove once every other month from my office alongside O’Hare Airport to St. Louis for five (5) hours to see my largest customer, Sigma-Aldrich Co., as the Midwest District Sales Manager for a trade journal magazine that is known today as Bioscience Technology.

I just finished entirely writing for PreLien2Lien thirty-six (36) new notices for the state of MISSOURI.  They also have (CTT) Custom Template Technology, enabling each template notice to be customized for a one-time $50 fee. 

MISSOURI is not a traditional 1st notice state for Subcontractors, but General/Prime Contractors do have to provide Owners with a Notice To Owner. It forewarns Owners that Subcontractors have a future right to lien if payment is not made to them.  It also advises them to request payment waivers (Partial/Full Conditional/Unconditional waivers and releases for payments made to “persons” supplying labor or materials for a project.

General/Prime/Sub Contractors (Private Projects): MISSOURI Revised Statutes § 429-080 mandate that a General/Prime/Sub contractors on a commercial or residential project must record a Lien Statement with the Clerk of the District Court in the county where a project you provided construction related equipment, labor, materials or services is located. It must be recorded within six (6) months after the last day of supplying equipment, labor, materials, labor or services to a project.