can a contractor file a lien against my property

Yes, this is called a Lis Pendens and it can place a lien against your property. You may need to file a small claims case against them in regards to this. Review you contract very well and make sure that no clause is in there stating that you can not do this. You may also want to contact your local Better Business Bureau and file a complaint on them. They may have a history of doing this to others and it will also depend on why you terminated the contract and fired them.

http://www.escrowhelp.com/articles/19990924.html

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how will i know if a lien was placed? will i be notified?

How can they put a lien if the work was not done/finished

The contract has no clauses. it just states the work that was promised to be done thats all one paragraph--ps I hired another crew for way less and they redid almost everything. they said this work was no good

After I gave them a deposit and I bought the materials they only worked 2 weeks and stopped

isnt there any laws that protect us the customers from these contractors that take money? cant I put some kind of lien on them for their business practices

Here is your original question:

can a contractor file a lien against my property once I paid them the first half but fired them after they requested their 2nd half in order to finish but i was not satisfied of their work

Have you been told a lein has been placed on your property. Have you been given or "served" with any papers. Were you in anyway in default with the contract. Did you report this person to the Better Business Bureau when fired.

I need answers to the above please to help you.

no i dont know or was not told a lein was placed nothing was served

isnt this called a mechanic lien that can be placed without the homeowner knowing

default? i paid them 25,000 deposit to start they only did 30 percent then stopped because they wanted all their money to finish--60 more to be exact..ps they also served me with another invoice stating that they did more work and I had to pay 20,ooo more ---i never signed this
i didnt trust them so i fired them because of their work ethic and bad job

never reported this. Should I? They are threatening me

How long has this been since the work was done (or lack of) and now. How are they threatening you. And did they leave with all the money you gave them on the deposit of 25k.

Edited by 4ren6 on August 9 2006 at 11:26am

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its been almost a month

Once I gave them the deposit they worked like almost 2 weeks but not everyday because I was checking on them without them knowing

I paid for all materials and they just touched every room/basically did 2 percent in everyroom and left with a mess

he keeps saying i need my money or else i will take you to court . PS I saw them on my property without my consent after I fired them . they came in the house and said that my new workers had to go and that they cant be here because they have the work.

did you pay them 25,000 that they still have and did you give them anything in writing dismissing them from doing the work. If you gave them 25,000 was any of this money refunded to you due to lack of work. Have you read your contract real well to see if any clause is in it that would disqualify you from firing them or what actions they could take against you. Read it over and let me know...........trying my best to help you here. Be patient.

thanks

contract was just a paragraph expaining the work

No legal terms

Agreed price was 70,ooo to complete the house

gave them 25,ooo, i paid 10,000 materials,

so 35,ooo-- i gave tham

did only about 20 percent not even then stopped wanting the rest of the money to finish

upon that they said i owed them another 20,ooo on top for work they claim they did without my consent

i said no you are fired and dont come back. I was not happy with their work ethic

nothing was refunded back

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