Mechanical Lien Query

[Mauricio A.]

Hello all, 

I have an  investor friend who is retired and I was helping him to obtain a roof contractor to fix a leak in one of his properties.  We contacted one roofer who came out and gave a written estimate for the repair.  The property owner agreed over the phone that the roofer would come out to work on the property the next day.  However, the roofer never came nor returned any of his phone calls on the next day.  A day later, my friend got in touch with the roofer and informed him that he no longer was interested in doing business with him.  The roofer became irate and threatened a mechanical lien against him.  

My question is: would this mechanical lien be legit?  There was no contract signed, only a verbal agreement that the roofer would show up the next day, which he never did. 

Thanks!
 

[Will Fraser]

Hi @Mauricio A. - I'm not sure how NY laws specifically interact with contract law and labor laws, but from my experience in my market Mechanic's Liens are a great example of the manipulable holes in our system.

The mechanic can certainly file a lien, with little or no evidence.  Once that lien is filed it will encumber the sale of the property (or refinancing it).  The way the release the lien would be to have the contractor go in and release it in the county clerk's office OR through a lawsuit.  I'm in the middle of one of these right now and . . . it sucks sucks sucks!

I would advise you and your friend to RECORD EVERYTHING.  The thing your friend has on their side is that there was no legal agreement and no work performed.  A roofer is not a consultant and unless they charged a "diagnostic fee" or something like that, which would have needed to be disclosed on the front end, then they don't have any legitimacy to their mechanics lien.

However, the fact that it is illegitimate will not prevent the mechanic from filing it.  How's that for a system that needs an overhaul?

Note about me:  I am not an attorney or anyone with authority in this subject, simply a fellow journeyman on this path of real estate investing.  Don't sue me :)