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| A common complaint for my line of work is that no straight answers are available. Here are short, straight answers to questions that can be hard to get elsewhere. |
Q: Who are you?
- A: I cover this on the About Page.
Q: What is this site really about?
- A: When someone does construction work in Illinois but doesn't get paid, they can use a mechanics lien to sell the property and keep some or all of the sales price. The mortgage may not get paid out of the sale. This is a great way to get paid if you're the worker, and horrible if you own the building or hold the mortgage, but have a dispute with the worker. Whichever side you're on, there are things you can do ahead of time to protect yourself, if you know what to do. If you want to know what those protections are, go back to the Learn Page, or Contact Me.
Q: All I need is a mechanic's lien form. Just give me the forms, and I'll fill them out.
- A: Okay, I provide free mechanics lien forms here. Be sure to read the explanatory information about how, when, and whether to use them.
Q: What do you really want? Why put all this information on the Web for free?
- A: Because I am in the mechanics lien business, obviously I would like to find clients who need mechanics liens.
- A: YOU SHOULD NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE A PROBLEM TO LEARN THIS MATERIAL. Very few people learn anything about mechanics liens until after a major problem has arisen. However, mechanics liens problems, like so many other kinds of problems, are much easier to prevent than fix. Therefore, one purpose of this page is to teach people the importance of observing mechanics lien principles at the start of the construction process, and during.
- A: The educated client is one who knows when to call me (among other things).
Q: What do you charge?
- A: $500 per lien for the vast majority of liens. That is a turn-key service for every aspect of researching, preparing, serving, and filing the lien. When comparing lien services, be very careful to determine exactly what the service offers. Many services charge less, but provide significantly less service.
Q: If I call you with a question, aren't you always going to tell me that I need to hire you?
- A: No. Mechanics lien issues are questions of security in a business transaction, and I can't make the value judgment for someone else about what that security is worth to them.
- A: What I will do is to make suggestions about what would provide you some peace of mind and how much the peace of mind would cost. Sometimes the dangers in a project are just so small and unlikely that the cost of being careful is too high. Do you really need me to handle a $500 renovation? Probably not. But if your project involves a significant amount of money or is otherwise complex or difficult, then some advice beforehand could mean the difference between a successfully completed project and a catastrophe, like losing your building, losing your mortgage, or bankrupting your business.
Q: I read the other pages about how mechanics liens work, and it just looks like a way to trap people and rip them off using legal technicalities.
- A: Yes, it certainly can be used that way, which is exactly why you need to make sure that you are not on the receiving end of the technicality.