What are our options to place a lien on a property we worked on if we can not notify the homeowner?
Full Question:
We own a tile installation business and are attempting to collect the balance due on a completed residential project. Calls to the owner are not returned and our invoice has not been paid. On March 18, 2009, we purchased a 'Notice of Unpaid Balance and Right to File Lien form from US Legal Forms and filed the form at the county clerk's office. We mailed it certified on March 20, 2009. It was returned to us yesterday, April 13, 2009, as 'Return to Sender, Unclaimed, Unable to Forward'. Now we are back to square one in a lien process that has a very strict time line. We cannot file the Construction Lien until this NUB is filed first if we understand it correctly. A previous certified letter to the same address was accepted and the owner of the property is still there as we have observed. What recourse do we have now before our time to file has disappeared entirely?The home owner has another residence not far from this newly constructed residence and owns a periodontal business in New Jersey as well.
04/14/2009 |
Category: Contractors ยป Construction... |
State: New Jersey |
#16015
Answer:
You may send certified mail to the other known addresses of the property owner.
The following is a NJ statute:
2A:44A-7. Mailing of lien claim by claimant
Within 10 business days following the filing of a lien claim, the
claimant shall, by personal service or registered or certified mail,
return receipt requested, postage prepaid, serve or mail a copy of the
lien claim as prescribed in section 8 of this act to the last known
business address or place of residence of the owner and, if any, of the
contractor and the subcontractor, against whom the claim is asserted.
Proof of timely mailing shall satisfy the requirement of service of the
lien claim. The service of the lien claim provided for in this
section shall be a condition precedent to enforcement of the lien; however, the
service of the lien claim outside the prescribed time period shall not
preclude enforceability unless the party not timely served proves by a
preponderance of the evidence that the late service has materially
prejudiced its position. Disbursement of funds by the owner, a contractor
or a subcontractor, or the creation or conveyance of an interest in real
property by the owner, without actual knowledge of the filing of the lien
claim, shall constitute prima facie evidence that the party has been
materially prejudiced.
