All Forum Posts by: Jia Lin

@Rob D. - Thanks for the additional insights. Unfortunately, IL is backwards and just doesn't have a lot of measures to protect homeowners. A notice of nonresponsibility is not recognized here and appears to be limited to only certain states. 

@Account Closed - Thanks! Yes, been reading up on the mechanic lien law for IL. Unfortunately, the law favors contractors and subcontractors. We don't have the benefit of the 20 day preliminary notice. Here we have a 60 day preliminary notice which may be issued after a project is completed in order to perfect the lien. Would think it's common sense to require notice to be provided before a project starts but legislation is failing homeowners/clients in this regard.

@Wayne Brooks - Thanks for that insight. Wish IL would take after FL in that sense. Unfortunately, a notice of commencement is not required here. Going forward will hire and pay subs directly and if using a GC will require a sworn statement/lien affidavits to confirm payments have been passed to subs.

@Francis Rusnak - appreciate the advice! Yes, definitely planning on leaving plenty of reviews on any platform I can find. Will report them to the Attorney General, BBB etc. In hindsight, valuable lesson that needed to be learned. Hoping for the best but worst case we overpay but better now than on a more expensive project.

@Mark Ainley - Appreciate the advice! GC is filing bankruptcy and there's another lawsuit against him so there's no chance of getting anything back. I even tried filing a claim with their insurance but they said this would constitute a workmanship issue so wouldn't qualify. Unfortunately, this is a flip so we're hoping to offload as soon as possible. Will talk to an attorney to see if we can bond it out or somehow handle so that it doesn't impact the buyers.

@John Clark - Appreciate the advice! Yes, definitely will know better next time. 

@Bill Quigley - Sorry to hear about your negative experience. Yea something definitely needs to be done to protect homeowners from unscrupulous contractors.

@Wayne Brooks - Thank you! Yes, the mechanics laws in IL can be very loosely interpreted. Technically if scope of work is over $1K, contractors and subcontractors need to provide notice they are working in the home but I don't know how often it's actually enforced. 

Hi Vicent, appreciate your honest feedback! This was a hard lesson to learn but definitely glad I'm learning it now rather than later on a more expensive project. I didn't know about lien waivers prior to this project so unfortunately was not able to obtain them. However, I do have in writing from the GC that his agreements with the subcontractors are not my responsibility. He had initially denied the allegations. I don't have all the facts in your case but does it matter if some of the subcontractors are unlicensed? I did not give authorization for my GC to use unlicensed subcontractors and haven't seen any of their agreements. I thought the law also mentioned something about contractors/subcontractors needing to provide invoices if scope of rehab is greater than $1,000? What's to stop Joe Electrician from giving Bob Plumber some pictures of my home to allow him to file a lien too even if he's never worked for me. 

Hi All, I'm flipping a condo in Cook County and recently discovered that the GC I've hired and paid more than 80% balance of labor has not paid the subcontractors. I have receipts and bank statements to substantiate each and every payment. The GC has refused to provide signed lien affidavits and sworn statements indicating he has paid the subs. We ultimately fired him for poor workmanship (light switches popping out sockets, bad paint job, bad tile work etc) and damages to our expensive materials (nicks and dings to expensive kitchen cabinets) which requires extensive rework. We had no knowledge subcontractors were even being utilized when we signed the initial contract. Has anyone had success fighting off mechanic liens in Cook County or Illinois? I've done some preliminary research and Illinois seems to be extremely favorable towards contractors. Seems mind boggling that we'd could potentially be responsible for filling the GC's financial obligations when we had no knowledge of what his agreement is with the subscontractors. Appreciate any insight!

Hi All, I'm flipping a condo in Cook County (Illinois) and recently discovered that the GC I've hired and paid more than 80% balance of labor has not paid the subcontractors. I have receipts and bank statements to substantiate each and every payment. The GC has refused to provide signed lien affidavits and sworn statements indicating he has paid the subs. We ultimately fired him for poor workmanship (light switches popping out sockets, bad paint job, bad tile work etc) and damages to our expensive materials (nicks and dings to expensive kitchen cabinets) which requires extensive rework. We had no knowledge subcontractors were even being utilized when we signed the initial contract. Has anyone had success fighting off mechanic liens in Cook County or Illinois? I've done some preliminary research and Illinois seems to be extremely favorable towards contractors. Seems mind boggling that we'd could potentially be responsible for filling the GC's financial obligations when we had no knowledge of what his agreement is with the subscontractors. For instance, what's stopping a random electrician from filing a mechanic's lien for $10,000 if there was no contract between the home owner and the electrician? Or what if the GC promised someone $3,000 but they're now asking for $6,000? Appreciate any insights!

Hi All, I'm flipping a condo in Cook County (Illinois) and recently discovered that the GC I've hired and paid more than 80% balance of labor has not paid the subcontractors. I have receipts and bank statements to substantiate each and every payment. The GC has refused to provide signed lien affidavits and sworn statements indicating he has paid the subs. We ultimately fired him for poor workmanship (light switches popping out sockets, bad paint job, bad tile work etc) and damages to our expensive materials (nicks and dings to expensive kitchen cabinets) which requires extensive rework. We had no knowledge subcontractors were even being utilized when we signed the initial contract. Has anyone had success fighting off mechanic liens in Cook County or Illinois? I've done some preliminary research and Illinois seems to be extremely favorable towards contractors. Seems mind boggling that we'd could potentially be responsible for filling the GC's financial obligations when we had no knowledge of what his agreement is with the subscontractors. For instance, what's stopping a random electrician from filing a mechanic's lien for $10,000 if there was no contract between the home owner and the electrician? Or what if the GC promised someone $3,000 but they're now asking for $6,000? Appreciate any insights!

@Isabella White - I just send you a colleague request. PM me your email and I'll send you the list I have. Haven't really had issues with a ton of move out damage other than excessive holes etc but my tenants know I use them so I think they're good about cleaning up. I have a small portfolio of townhomes in a nice suburb of Chicago. The quality of tenants are generally really nice but something I've learned is that just because they look great on paper in terms of occupations and finances doesn't mean they'll be great tenants. For example, I had a pair of doctors that were extremely high maintenance. Would have to send someone over almost every month for small fixes. It was ridiculous. Wife at one point texted me at 2am in the morning because the smoke alarm battery went out. Clearly a tenant responsibility to replace by the way which is why I stress that you familiarize your lease when you get into this. I'd also be wary of high maintenance suburban moms or any one else that appears to have unreasonable asks when touring the property. Additionally, vet all references and don't feel pressured to accept someone. If someone appears to be in a huge rush that's a red flag for me. My favorite tenants have been blue collar and generally handy. They'll take care of small issues and I'll just reimburse them for the expense. I actually disagree with Issac S. I won't raise rent on good tenants as long as the spread is less than $100. Good tenants make your life so much easier and makes this as passive as possible. I'll trade losing a few hundred dollars to keep good tenants over potentially losing a month of rent during turnover and higher maintenance costs associated with demanding tenants and lost of sleep. 

@Isaac S. - Great tips! 

@Isabella White - A few others below:

1. If you don't use a licensed real estate agent, leverage a lot of free sites like Zillow, Zumper, Facebook etc to list vacancies for free. However, definitely make sure your lease is standard for your market if you don't use an agent. For rentals, I never had a problem finding tenants within a couple weeks through private ads.

2. Take your time screening tenants, don't just accept the first ones that apply. Horrible tenants will make your life miserable. Easier to reject them outright then deal with headaches later one. Also trust your gut, if something seems off you're probably end up being right. Make sure tenants have credit above 650, monthly income atleast 3x rent and clean background.

3. Know your lease like the back of your hand. Specifically what you're responsible for and what they're responsible so you'll be able to push back if tenants try to take advance of you.

4. Leverage move in and move out condition list. I conduct a detailed inspection before and after each lease. Personally like to address any potential issues up front. Saves you from late night texts and cuts down on maintenance needs down the line. 

5. Credit/background reports don't have to be expensive. I use the ones from tenantbackgroundsearch.com. The $23 check will even tell you if they have traffic violations.

6. Set boundaries - provide business hours if needed and limit weekend communication to emergencies.

Good luck!