Contractor lien

[Jkretsch]

I hired a painter to paint home interior. I received 53 complaints from potential buyers about the paint. I asked realtor to send photos since I had moved already for work. I forwarded pictures of subpar or unfinished work to painter and asked if he could go fix and/or finish. He refused, threatened to harm my family, threatened to go damage the property, and put a contract lien on the home. The bid was for $2800 to be paid at closing. I was going to pay less than that but still pay for the work that he did do. With this lien it sounds like we can’t close until he’s paid in full. I feel I’m getting shafted and don’t think I should pay full price for half a job. Should I fight this or is it even worth my time.

 

[Zigner]

I hired a painter to paint home interior. I received 53 complaints from potential buyers about the paint. I asked realtor to send photos since I had moved already for work. I forwarded pictures of subpar or unfinished work to painter and asked if he could go fix and/or finish. He refused, threatened to harm my family, threatened to go damage the property, and put a contract lien on the home. The bid was for $2800 to be paid at closing. I was going to pay less than that but still pay for the work that he did do. With this lien it sounds like we can’t close until he’s paid in full. I feel I’m getting shafted and don’t think I should pay full price for half a job. Should I fight this or is it even worth my time.

There is no way we could make that decision for you. You have to decide, from a business perspective, if it's worth your time to delay a closing (or possibly lose a sale) while dealing with this.

 

[quincy]

I hired a painter to paint home interior. I received 53 complaints from potential buyers about the paint. I asked realtor to send photos since I had moved already for work. I forwarded pictures of subpar or unfinished work to painter and asked if he could go fix and/or finish. He refused, threatened to harm my family, threatened to go damage the property, and put a contract lien on the home. The bid was for $2800 to be paid at closing. I was going to pay less than that but still pay for the work that he did do. With this lien it sounds like we can’t close until he’s paid in full. I feel I’m getting shafted and don’t think I should pay full price for half a job. Should I fight this or is it even worth my time.

What is the name of your state?

 

[LdiJ]

There is no way we could make that decision for you. You have to decide, from a business perspective, if it's worth your time to delay a closing (or possibly lose a sale) while dealing with this.

He said he received 53 complaints from potential buyers about the bad paint job. The is no "lose a sale or delay a closing". It sounds like the house is not going to sell at all unless its fixed. The OP seems to be between a rock and a hard place to some extent. If he doesn't have a strong need to sell quickly, it might be wise to sue the painter for shoddy work and at least eliminate a contractor's lien before going much further.

 

[Zigner]

He said he received 53 complaints from potential buyers about the bad paint job. The is no "lose a sale or delay a closing". It sounds like the house is not going to sell at all unless its fixed.

That's for reinforcing what I said by quoting the OP

The OP seems to be between a rock and a hard place to some extent. If he doesn't have a strong need to sell quickly, it might be wise to sue the painter for shoddy work and at least eliminate a contractor's lien before going much further.

Agreed.