Construction and Renovation Project in Florida

[Weatherman]

I was curious as to whether anyone from Florida, reading this, has ever hired a general contractor for a major construction or renovation project.

What I'd like to know is what assurances you made with the general contractor to guarantee all the subcontractors were properly paid. Did you ever have a subcontractor threaten to file a lien against you because he claims to have not been paid?

I’m interested in hearing some stories about how Florida construction lien laws have been applied in some real-life situations.

[VWD]

I can't speak for Florida, But I think that is something that can happen in most states, I have heard about it happening before,

[abigtroutt]

Florida laws suck there!! There is no protection for the consumer even if you paid your General Contractor in full. The only full proof way is for you to be the GC and pay the bills your self and make sure the contractors sign off on the release of lien papers. There is a big problem with a pool company here where they built over 30 pools and did not pay subcontractors for the work done even though the pool company was paid in full. There is one homeowner who paid the full amount of over 55k and has now over 20K in liens on their property beacuse of the GC.

This happens all over the state and you just have to make sure you check with the BBB and the BIA Contractors Assoc. Do your homework and ask for refferences and call them. When I had my pool put in I made them give me 10 refferences and I also went to check out the work they did and got to speak with the owners of the propertys and hear good and bad things about the companies I was looking into.

One company's reference actually told me not to go with them and had a lot of horror stories....and they did not build my pool!

[Weatherman]

The reason why I ask is that I'm right in the middle of a renovation project to repair damage done by Hurricane Wilma. Someone asked me about construction lien releases, and I had to admit I had never heard of a "construction lien" before (they are also called "mechanic's liens").

My relationship with my general contractor is still good, but I want to be prepared in case something unexpected occurs.

Although I've read through Florida lien law, I find it difficult to understand some of the details. I'm not looking for legal opinions, but rather some real-life examples of how the law is applied.

[abigtroutt]

I made my GC sign off on the release of lien at the time I gave him final payment. My final payment was large and he wanted the money so he released the lien paperwork. But I think it still does not stop the sub-contractors from placing liens against your property if he fails to pay them. I'll try to ask a few of my construction buddies about that for you.

[Weatherman]

Originally Posted by abigtroutt

There is a big problem with a pool company here where they built over 30 pools and did not pay subcontractors for the work done even though the pool company was paid in full. There is one homeowner who paid the full amount of over 55k and has now over 20K in liens on their property beacuse of the GC.

Do you know whether the pool company provided the homeowners a notarized Release of Lien and Affidavit when they received the final payments?

I'm trying to get an idea of how binding that document is to all the subcontractors and suppliers.

[Weatherman]

Originally Posted by abigtroutt

I'll try to ask a few of my construction buddies about that for you.

I appreciate that.

[abigtroutt]

Check this link out also

http://www.myflorida.com/dbpr/pro/el...a_lien_law.pdf