Need help with Contractor Complaint and Construction Lien

[Neil Whomsley]

Hello, my wife and I purchased a property in Hillsborough County, FL as a flip and have had a lot of problems with our contractor who we hired for a total renovation. He was extremely behind on schedule, work quality was sub par, and worst of all he never pulled the proper permits and the project was shut down back in October. We have been fighting with the County and the contractor since then. The permits are in process, and should be available soon (hopefully). In addition, he hired an architect to do engineered drawings, as it was required for the after-the-fact permits and apparently he did not pay him, as this architect has started the process of putting a construction lien on the house. I know we need to respond to the potential lien and to put in a complaint on the contractor. We would appreciate any advice on the process that anyone here could give us. Also if anyone knows an attorney in the Tampa area that is familiar with a situation like this and could help us, that would be appreciated.