The state of Virginia has a unique scheme when it comes to mechanic’s liens and preliminary notices. In many situations, the construction workers or suppliers will not need to send a preliminary notice in residential and commercial construction projects.
Only limited circumstances like a two-family residential property are being built and whether a mechanic’s lien agent is present that you are going to send the notification. There are other situations where the requirements are stringent, and you can check more with the preliminary notices and liens in Virginia to know more about the entire process. Some professionals are willing to walk you through the process to ensure that you’re going to get paid for the services or materials that you have provided.
Securing the rights to file a mechanic lien does not necessarily mean that you need to file the preliminary notice right away. But if you decide to do so, you can get a lot of benefits since the owners are well-aware of your intention, and they can prioritize you when they are writing checks for the project. Post-work notices are usually technical notifications that will impose personal liability on the owners.
Why Send Notification in the First Place?
If it’s not required, you may wonder why you should send a preliminary notice in the first place. After all, this will not be required by the law, and you may seem to be wasting time, effort, and money in getting one.
However, these documents are excellent ways to let the owners know that you are there, working as a technician, supplier, or laborer to their house or commercial store. It will help increase the owners’ awareness and visibility and speed up payments as well. There’s also more straightforward communication that both parties will benefit from. Know more about preliminary notices in this link here.
About Residential Projects
Securing your payments if you are working on a residential project is essential. When you send the notification, the payment’s total amount is secured by the mechanic’s lien for your part. In Virginia, you are only guaranteed by a specific amount that the owner owes from you or the general contractor’s total sum that he has yet to pay on his subcontractors. The amount will depend on your overall role in the project and the sum written on the contract.
Things to Know on Section 43-11 Notifications
Section 43-11 notices will not interfere with the workers’ rights to file a mechanic’s lien. There’s a possibility that claimants can get more than what was initially recoverable under their mechanics lien. As was stated previously, the VA law requires the payment of the amount that the hiring party only owes. But when you send Section 43-11, you’re making it clear that the owner is liable and entirely responsible for paying the whole debt. This is the same with the general contractor.
The Process of Sending
If you’re working on a residential home, the lien’s potential claimant must give the contract or notification to the owner. The project should have the mechanic’s lien agent MLA name, telephone number, building permit, and mailing address as details. This is a requirement that lasted for years, and it bore excellent results.
If there’s no MLA, the contractor has all the rights to call the authorities and know more about the building construction. They will determine if there was an issued permit in the first place and a proper mechanic’s lien agent posted.
If the MLAs and permits are present, then the contractor or a company representing him will send the notices to the right parties. There are also possibilities of amendment where the owners will make changes and appoint a different MLA. This is why the parties involved should keep an eye on the changes and the permits. Know more about MLAs here: http://www.co.new-kent.va.us/DocumentCenter/View/439/Designation-of-Mechanics-Lien-Agent-Extended-PDF?bidId.
The type of notice brought about by Section 43-11 doesn’t necessarily act as a requirement for any people involved. However, if the general contractor or subcontractors wanted to hold the owner fully responsible for unpaid debts, they should be sent to the parties liable.
What to Include
A Virginia notice to the agent must contain accurate and specific details for this to be considered valid. Some of the information needed is the following:
- Contact numbers
- Contractor License including certificate numbers, date of issuance, expiry, etc.
- Full description of the property, and this should match the ones on the permit
- Statement seeking payments
You should find all the necessary details on the building permit. If one piece of info is not present on the permit, the claimants have the right to make reasonable inquiries to find the details they need from the authorities.
The requirement for Section 43-11
As with the first notification under Section 43-11, this form must be on paper and written by the claimant. This should state the character and overall nature of the contract as well as the claim amount. The notices should include
- The contact information of the claimant
- Details about the property owner
- Information about the general contractor
- Specifics about the hiring parties
- Description of the building or house
- Probable amount of the claim
The second post-work notification should be imposed similarly to the first. The personal liability should be corrected with the updated amount, and an affidavit should verify everything. Filing the notices and other questions about the mechanic’s lien in Virginia can be found on legitimate websites on the internet. You can also ask questions to experts who can help you more about the process.
