Remodeling Your Home

Guides and Tools

Remodeling

If you are thinking of hiring the services of a contractor for doing any remodeling assignment as part of your home improvement, it is important to remember that the contractor may get the job done through sub-contractors, also known as subs. Since all the financial deals are made between you and the contractor whereas the actual job is done by some other people, it is important that you cover yourself from any risk or financial liability and make sure that all concerned in the job sign a lien waver before they start any remodeling job in your home or before you pay them any advance deposit.

While it is an absolute must that the contractor who takes up your home remodeling assignment sign the lien waver, you must ensure that all the members of the sub-contractors’ staff should also sign this before any money transaction takes place.

Though unfortunate, the fact of the matter is that many home owners do not even know that even sub contractors can and may place a lien on their property, in the event of the contractor who hired them does not pay their dues. There is high probability that you as a home owner and responsible for hiring contractors have paid the contractor in full for the remodeling job and even after you have been given a legally-valid receipt, the contractor fails to make any subsequent payment to the sub-contractor. If you take the precaution of signing the lien waver before you make any payment to the contractor, then the liability of paying the subcontractor passes from you to the contractor and you are free of all financial liability. Though we tend to ‘presume’ that the contractor will pay his subs for the remodeling job of you home after completion and after he has received full payment from you, reality check shows that often, the contractor leaves the sub contractors high and dry. This understandably starts a dispute, when the sub contractors start demanding payment from the house owner. In case you do not get every one who is working in your home sign the lien waver, you automatically become responsible for making payments to the subcontractor, even after you have paid the contractor the full and agreed amount.

The biggest advantage which signing the live waver offers to the house owner is that any duplicate payment for a single job is thereby avoided. This will also ensure that all the people working in your home as part of the home improvement project understand clearly that all payments will be released by the contractor and not the home owner.

Make sure that the lien waver includes some important information like your and the contractor’s full contact details, a detailed description of the home improvement job and the final state of the house which has been mutually agreed upon to be signed by you, the contractor and all the workmen belonging to the sub contractor’s group. A witness signature is highly recommended though not mandatory.

Taking this vital step before any contractor is hired and payments made, can save you from a lot of legal and financial hassles and disputes at a later date.

eContractors •Our Service • Free Quotes • Remodeling Guide • Moving Service • Contractors Finder