We bought a new construction home in September of last year & rec'd a letter fom a sub of the builder re:mechanics lien.Help!

This is the classic double-payment liability that owners face. First things first, you should forward a copy of the lien to the general contractor, demand the general contractor promptly resolve the lien claim, and require the general contractor forward you a copy of the subcontractor's recorded lien release once the lien claim is resolved. If the general contractor is unresponsive, you will have to resolve the lien claim yourself. Lien statutes are often very specific and technical with regard to the prerequisites for recording a lien; accordingly, you might find a procedural challenge to the lien's validity that would give you a relatively painless way of removing the lien. For example, I believe Pennsylvania requires a lien claim to be filed within four months after completing work (note I am not licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, however), meaning time has expired to file a lien if the work was completed sometime before you purchased the home in September. I also believe the subcontractor must provide you a 30-day notice prior to filing the lien (which is what you may have received), which effectively cuts a subcontractor's time to claim a lien to three months. Finally, the claimant (I believe in Pennsylvania) has to notify you within one month after the lien claim is filed (which also may be what you received). But if any of these procedural requirements are not satisfied, the lien would likely be defective and a court would order the lien removed. The best advice, though, is if the general contractor does not step up and take care of the problem (meaning you will likely have a breach of contract claim against the GC or vendor or someone), consult an attorney in Pennsylvania, because there's a good possibility a procedural defect has occurred here. (To protect yourself from these kinds of problems in the future, in exchange for your payment, require a lien waiver from every contractor and material supplier that provides labor or materials to your project.) Good luck!

Also, you should be aware that in most states payment to the general contractor for the subcontractor's work prohibits the subcontractor from liening the owner's property. If the general contractor on your home does not promptly resolve the lien issue, you should consult with an attorney to see if the lien can be removed for procedural defects as stated in the answer above.