Published by Programme B
A preliminary notice, which is also commonly referred to as a pre-lien notice, or even a notice to owners, is essentially a notice that will be sent to a property owner at the very beginning of any kind of construction project, either public or private. It will also be sent whenever there is any type of subcontractor situation that has been initiated, mainly once they have begun to work.
The notice is going to be sent directly to the property owner of the project, the general contractor for the project, as well as any others as required by the laws in that particular state. With that being said, different states are going to have different requirements for serving a preliminary notice, so it is always going to be in your best interest to research the requirements for the state that you are doing the construction project in. On top of that, you are going to need to know that depending upon the type of project that is being done, the requirements for sending a preliminary notice may be different as well. Here is what you need to know about filing a preliminary notice.
What is a Preliminary Notice?
While a BICA preliminary notice service is not going to be a mechanics lien or a notice that you are intending to file a lien, it is going to let the appropriate parties know that you have officially started working on whatever the construction project may be. Essentially, it is going to the very first step in ensuring that you get paid for the work that you are going to be doing on a project as it allows you to file a mechanics lien if you need too.
However, this is going to need to be done before you have any idea that you are going to have a payment issue later on. If you are not careful and don’t follow your particular state’s preliminary notice requirements, you may have already disqualified yourself from being able to file a mechanics lien if an issue does eventually come up.
General contractors and property owners alike are going to like receiving preliminary notices, as it will help them to track not just who is working on their project, but how much they are expecting to be paid for their work as well. On top of that, it is also going to help the general contractor to better manage the project security as well. Overall, according to most subcontractors, they have found that they will get paid much quicker if they do send a preliminary notice when compared to not sending one.
When it comes to filing a preliminary notice, it is going to be a good idea for you to do it, as it is essentially going to be a safety net in case there is some type of problem with getting paid. It is not only going to help you keep everything organized but is also going to keep your option for filing a mechanics lien in case you need to file one later down the road.