{"id":905072,"date":"2025-12-02T15:53:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=905072"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:54:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:54:01","slug":"mechanics-lien-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>John E. Lande | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dickinsonbradshaw.com\/blogs-articles\/2025\/11\/10\/its-mechanics-lien-time\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Dickinson Bradshaw Fowler &amp; Hagen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is no question that the U.S. economy is under stress from several factors. One sector where stress is turning into distress is commercial construction. In September,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.experian.com\/blogs\/business-information\/2025\/09\/15\/credit-signals-in-construction-early-warnings-for-lenders-and-risk-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Experian reported<\/a>\u00a0that while construction, and in particular commercial construction, has reached new heights, credit stress is building in commercial construction projects throughout the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing delinquency rates and owner cash flow problems mean trouble for contractors working on commercial construction projects. That makes this a good time for contractors that do not typically utilize <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\">mechanics\u2019 liens<\/a> to consider whether to use the protection that mechanics\u2019 liens provide contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This blog\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dickinsonbradshaw.com\/blogs-articles\/2018\/05\/29\/major-changes-to-iowas-mechanics-lien-law-five-years-later\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">previously covered<\/a>\u00a0the intricate rules that apply to residential mechanics\u2019 liens. There are generally fewer requirements for commercial construction projects than residential projects. Contractors on commercial construction projects generally can perfect a mechanics\u2019 lien without providing any pre-lien notices, with one exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subcontractors of subcontractors (so-called \u201csub-subcontractors\u201d) must send a one-time notice to general contractors within 30 days of commencing work to protect their right to file a mechanics\u2019 lien. The requirements of the pre-lien notice for sub-subcontractors are spelled out in Iowa Code Chapter 572.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any contractor that is working on a commercial project should therefore ascertain early in the job whether they are working for a general contractor or a subcontractor. This is not always easy to do, but a sub-subcontractor that fails to provide the pre-lien notice will lose the right to file a mechanics\u2019 lien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After providing the pre-lien notice, if required, then a contractor can file a mechanics\u2019 lien within 90 days of the last labor or material provided for the job. If a contractor waits longer than 90 days to file the mechanics\u2019 lien, they may still be able to file the lien but they will need to follow additional requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mechanics\u2019 lien is then a powerful tool for the contractor to ensure payment of outstanding invoices. If the lien is properly filed then it becomes a lien against the real estate, like a mortgage. An owner or a bank will need to deal with the contractor to clear title to either sell the property or replace financing on the project. Contractors can then require payment as a condition of releasing or subordinating their lien rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, if the owner is unable to pay, then the contractor can use the mechanics\u2019 lien to foreclose against the real estate. After the foreclosure, the contractor can force the sale of the real property and use the proceeds to pay the contractor\u2019s bills, including reasonable attorneys\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mechanics\u2019 lien filing process is intricate, and small mistakes can have major consequences. Contractors, particularly contractors not accustomed to filing mechanics\u2019 liens in Iowa, should consult with legal counsel about the process for filing a mechanics\u2019 lien. If done correctly, a mechanics\u2019 lien can protect a contractor even in turbulent economic conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes &#8211; please call Advise &amp; Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email <a href=\"mailto:experts@adviseandconsult.net\">experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John E. Lande | Dickinson Bradshaw Fowler &amp; Hagen There is no question that the U.S. economy is under stress from several factors. One sector where stress is turning into distress is commercial construction. In September,\u00a0Experian reported\u00a0that while construction, and in particular commercial construction, has reached new heights, credit stress is building in commercial construction&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10772],"tags":[9895,441],"class_list":["post-905072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mechanics-lien-law","tag-advise-consult","tag-mechanics-liens","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"good time for contractors that don&#039;t usually utilize mechanics\u2019 liens to consider whether to use the protection that they provide contractors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"good time for contractors that don&#039;t usually utilize mechanics\u2019 liens to consider whether to use the protection that they provide contractors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T22:53:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T22:54:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T22:53:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-02T22:54:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/\"},\"wordCount\":520,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise &amp; Consult\",\"Mechanics Liens\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mechanics Lien Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/\",\"name\":\"It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T22:53:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-02T22:54:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"good time for contractors that don't usually utilize mechanics\u2019 liens to consider whether to use the protection that they provide contractors\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"good time for contractors that don't usually utilize mechanics\u2019 liens to consider whether to use the protection that they provide contractors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","og_description":"good time for contractors that don't usually utilize mechanics\u2019 liens to consider whether to use the protection that they provide contractors","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/","og_site_name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2025-12-02T22:53:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-02T22:54:01+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time","datePublished":"2025-12-02T22:53:58+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-02T22:54:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/"},"wordCount":520,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise &amp; Consult","Mechanics Liens"],"articleSection":["Mechanics Lien Law"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/","name":"It\u2019s Mechanics\u2019\u00a0Lien Time - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-12-02T22:53:58+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-02T22:54:01+00:00","description":"good time for contractors that don't usually utilize mechanics\u2019 liens to consider whether to use the protection that they provide contractors","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-time\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-3NrW","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=905072"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":905073,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905072\/revisions\/905073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=905072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=905072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}