Lien Release: Fill & Download for Free

Happy dance!You no longer have to make the monthly mortgage payment.A couple of weeks after making the final payment you should receive the original trust deed or the lien release in the mail. The lender's copy of the mortgage agreement should accompany it and should be marked as “Paid in Full.”If you were making escrow payments to cover the insurance and property taxes as part of the mortgage payment, you will need to make alternate arrangements to pay these.You should receive a check for the balance of the escrow account and a reconciliation of the account at about the same time that you get the lien release. If not, follow up with the mortgage servicing company. (The mortgage servicing company may be different from the lender.)Send copies of the lien release or other proof of payment in full to your insurance carrier and have the lender removed as loss payee.Notify the tax collector that the loan has been retired and make sure that they have the correct mailing address for the property tax bills.

My ex-wife took in her uncle so we could take care of him. He was sick, and his house had no heat. It was the middle of winter. Finally, she asked him to sign over his house to her. We got him to a doctor and found him a place to live where they would provide three meals a day (he had not had three meals a day since his parents died in 1984 - this was 2002). We put the house up for sale so we could invest the money to help support him.The day we accepted the offer, we received a bill from someone who had tried to steal his house from him about 10 years earlier. This woman scam artist had put a mechanic's lien against the house for $750, which we bonded around to allow the house to sell. We requested her to release the lien several times, but she refused. We would not negotiate with her because we did not want to give her any money for her expenses in trying to steal his house. Lawyers wanted too much to take the case, so I started to search the law. I found what I wanted and filed suit in Superior Court. She showed up with her lawyer. The judge looked at me and asked if I were an attorney, I said, “No, your honor. I am her husband.” He smiled. Her lawyer smiled. He asked me why I wanted the lien released. I told him that, according to the law, she had 60 days to foreclose the lien by either filing suit or taking some action. It was now 17 months since she had filed the lien that we bonded around, and she had not taken any action. I would like the lien released so we can get our bond. I would like for her to pay for our filing fees and $300 to consult with my brother, who is a lawyer.The judge lost his smile and turned to her lawyer, “Do you have anything to say.”The lawyer turned to her and whispered with her for a few seconds. He turned to the judge and said, “Well, they owe her for the work she did.”The judge turned to me and I said, “This is not the proper venue for that discussion. If she would like to argue that, she needs to file her own case. Given the amount, it would be in small claims court. As for this, to release the lien, we had to file in Superior Court. Court fees were $265.”The judge turned to the lawyer and said, “He’s right. Do you have anything else to say?”Her lawyer whispered to her and said, “No, your honor.”“OK, Rule for plaintiff. Plaintiff needs to write up the order and present it to me in the next three days.”Well, I won. Now I had to write up an order… Fortunately, I went to the city law library and stumbled upon a lawyer’s assistant. She had a similar case, so she handed me a copy of her order and circled places where I needed to change information. The judge signed the order. She mailed us a check for $265, and we got our $750 back from the bond place. She sued us in small claims court. I offered as defense that she did not collect within the statute of limitations (7 years), and we didn’t own the house at the time when the work was done anyhow. We counter sued for $5000… Because. We lost that, she lost hers, and she disappeared into the slime pool from which she emerged.

It is highly unlikely that this will be considered a criminal matter and will need to be pursued civilly.You should do a couple of things first.File a complaint with the Contractor's Licensing Board. Their website also has a lot of helpful information so that you don't find yourself in this position again. They may also help with mediation. http://www.cslb.ca.gov/Contact an attorney to look into a civil suit against the contractor. Keep all records of any payments and lien releases.Don't pay any subcontractors without getting an itemized and complete invoice and a conditional lien release. Subcontractors have 90 days from the last day working on the job/supplying materials to file a lien on your property for non-payment (if they filed a 20-day notice.)Now, a couple of other points.Is the contractor licensed? If the answer is no, it may be more difficult to do anything and you may have to resort to a civil suit.Do you understand mechanic's liens and lien releases? Do you still have the copies of any of the 20-day notices? Did anyone file a lien on your property? Before you hire anyone else or pay anyone, please do some research on this. It can protect you as much as it protects contractors. Did you require lien releases from the subcontractors? No one should undertake a construction project, especially a commercial one, without an understanding of the lien process. It protects the contractor, subcontractors, and the owner. It also sets timelines for when a lien can be filed.If you have a signed lien release from the general contractor it will make your case much stronger and could result in fraud charges (usually this is only pursued if there is a pattern of behavior.) Especially if he hasn't been paying the subcontractors.These cases are almost always resolved civilly and I strongly suggest you contact a lawyer that can guide you through the process of suing the contractor.Never pay that much up front. Typically no more than 10% up front and pay as work is completed. Usually, you should hold 10% retention of each monthly invoice to be released when the job is completed and all walk through items have been resolved. This is a normal part of construction and if a contractor has an issue with it, walk away and find someone else.Good luck. Please be more careful next time.