Can I sue the title company for creating mechanics liens on my property that should not be there?: Three years ago I closed on a new custom home. The closing included a pool, solar panels and landscaping contracts that have since been completely paid. Now I'm trying to refinance, and during underwriting the processor found that my home has 4 mechanics liens. Liens from the custom builder, pool company, landscaper, and solar company. After contacting each of these, none of them filed a lien on my home and all payments required by the contracts had been made prior to final closing on our home three years ago. The liens seem to have been created by the title company during closing through a Lien Transfer document that specified the lender for the permanent loan as the new lien holder (even though none of the vendors had a lien in the first place). Right now the county clerk shows that our property has 4 mechanics liens and the refi company won't proceed until they are removed. Since the title company seems to be the one that created this situation, can I sue them for negligence and damages as this has prevented our refi loan from closing?
Brian’s answer:
I assume that you own the house and live there, making the house to be your homestead.
There may be two title companies at issue - the one that closed your purchase three years ago, and the one for your refinancing. If it turns out to be the same company, all the better.
You should consider making a claim on your title policy from the closing of your purchase three years ago using the information that you have recently discovered. In your claim, you should report the four mechanic's liens, and request that the title company resolve the clouds on your title. It may be that the title company will agree to issue a clean title policy to cover your refinancing. Your refinancing lender typically is only concerned with securing a clear title policy placing the lender with a first lien on unencumbered real property.
Good luck.
I had a contractor come in and he did poor work and went days or weeks without coming in to work. Can he sue?:
I had a contractor come in to remodel after pipes burst. He would tell me days he was coming to work, then not show up. Days or weeks would go by, then he’d work a day. It took him 4 weeks to finally get the plumbing done so the water could stay on. It took another 3 weeks to sheet rock and paint. The sheetrock and painting was terrible and one of his plumbing fixes leaked and grew mold in my wall.
When I pointed out my concerns he said it was better than what I had or things weren’t his fault.
I asked numerous times for invoices or a real contract but only got changing estimates.
After 2 months I said I didn’t want to keep working with him and he demanded thousands for work he didn’t do or did poorly. I have photos of all the work and estimates to fix what he did wrong.
What is he entitled to? I have paid $1000 and he still wants $2500 more but his work was bad and was a pain to deal with, plus I have to spend $1250 to fix what he did wrong. His estimates are crazy like asking $500 for 4 gallons of paint and 10 brushes. Can I create my own itemized list of materials since he is asking for just material cost and he said he was will in to eat most of the labor?
Brian’s answer:
You need to create a paper trail, so I suggest that you consider the following.
You should write the contractor a letter by certified mail to request that the contractor return to correct/complete his work. In that letter, you should advise generally what work needs to be corrected/completed. You should also indicate that if the contractor does not return to correct/complete his work, you will have to retain another contractor, and will hold the first contractor responsible for the costs. Finally, indicate in your letter that if the contractor does not advise that he will return to correct/complete his work within one week, you will presume that he has no intention of doing so, and you will hold him responsible for the costs of correcting/completing his work.
When the contractor does not return, you can retain another contractor to correct/complete the first contractor's work. Make sure that the second contractor itemizes his invoices and lists the costs to correct/complete the first contractor's work. You cannot charge the first contractor with the cost of work that was not within the first contractor's scope of work.
Once you have tallied the costs associated with correcting/completing the first contractor's work, you can consider suing him to recover those costs. The jurisdictional maximum for small claims court in Texas is now $20,000. So, if your claim exceeds that amount, you will have to sue in County or District Court. In small claims court, you can represent yourself. In County or District Court, you will have to retain an attorney. However, under Texas law, you would be entitled to recover attorney's fees if you prevailed.
Make sure that you take a lot of photos of the first contractor's work. Digital photos with the date of the photo imprinted on the photo are best. You should document the condition in which the first contractor left the work and what it took to correct/complete the work.
Good luck.
Do I have to pay a painter for a complete job before it’s completed? : Interior house was to be painted along with baseboards replaced and flooring ripped up and replaced with concrete stain. The painter painted the walls then took off baseboards revealing damaged drywall from flooding. Since then we have hired someone else to do the flooring with planking and he said he will patch the drywall, replace flooring and finish painting after flooring is finished. He wants payment for the remaining balance including work that has not been completed before the job is completed. He said he will place a lien on the house if we don’t. Does he have a case? Should we pay in full? We weren’t even given the total price when the job started. The contractor said he would give us a total of the complete renovation but we ended up firing him due to some quality issues from another project.
Brian’s answer:
You really have two issues: (1) getting the contractor to complete the work; and (2) warding off a mechanic's lien.
(1) You need to create a paper trail, so I suggest that you consider the following.
You should write the contractor a letter by certified mail to request that the contractor return to correct/complete his work. In that letter, you should advise generally what work needs to be corrected/completed. You should also indicate that if the contractor does not return to correct/complete his work, you will have to retain another contractor, and will hold the first contractor responsible for the costs. Finally, indicate in your letter that if the contractor does not advise that he will return to correct/complete his work within one week, you will presume that he has no intention of doing so, and you will hold him responsible for the costs of correcting/completing his work.
When the contractor does not return, you can retain another contractor to correct/complete the first contractor's work. Make sure that the second contractor itemizes his invoices and lists the costs to correct/complete the first contractor's work. You cannot charge the first contractor with the cost of work that was not within the first contractor's scope of work.
Once you have tallied the costs associated with correcting/completing the first contractor's work, you can consider suing him to recover those costs. The jurisdictional maximum for small claims court in Texas is now $20,000. So, if your claim exceeds that amount, you will have to sue in County or District Court. In small claims court, you can represent yourself. In County or District Court, you will have to retain an attorney. However, under Texas law, you would be entitled to recover attorney's fees if you prevailed.
Make sure that you take a lot of photos of the first contractor's work. Digital photos with the date of the photo imprinted on the photo are best. You should document the condition in which the first contractor left the work and what it took to correct/complete the work.
(2) I assume that the renovation is for your house, and that your house is your homestead. For the house to be your homestead, the house has to be titled in your name and you must live there. The contractor that contracted with you is called the "original contractor" under Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code (which governs the propriety of mechanic's liens). If the property at issue is your homestead, then for a contractor to be entitled to file a valid mechanic's lien against your homestead, he would have to comply with Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code. Among the requirements are a written contract signed by the owners of the homestead (husband and wife), certain homestead warnings, and filing of the contract with the county clerk. Those formalities do not usually happen. Without them, any attempted mechanic's lien filing would be invalid.
If the original contractor did not properly perfect a homestead mechanic's lien contract, then no contractor, subcontractor or supplier can file a valid mechanic's lien against your homestead. You should write a letter by certified mail to the lien claimant to demand that the lien be released, pointing out that the property is your homestead, and that the original contractor has not perfected a homestead mechanic's lien. If the lien claimant does not voluntarily release the lien, he could be liable for a fraudulent lien under Chapter 12 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code. Chapter 12 can award damages of $10,000 or actual damages whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees.
You can also demand that the lien be released under Section 53.160 of the Texas Property Code, which provides for a summary procedure (no trial necessary) for the removal of an invalid lien on someone's homestead.
Consider retaining a construction attorney to evaluate your legal situation and to provide advice.
Good luck.