Mechanic’s Lien
A mechanic’s lien secures payment for contractors or suppliers on a property. Learn how mechanic’s liens are filed and resolved.
Definition
A mechanic’s lien is a legal claim filed by contractors, subcontractors, or suppliers who have provided labor or materials for property improvements and have not been paid. The lien attaches to the property and must be satisfied before it can be sold or refinanced. Mechanic’s liens protect tradespeople by ensuring they can seek payment through the property’s value. To avoid liens, property owners should verify that contractors have been paid and may require lien waivers from all parties. Lien laws vary by state, specifying deadlines for filing and enforcing claims.
Why It Matters
You can pay your general contractor in full and still lose the house over a subcontractor who never got their cut. In Washington the claim has to be recorded within 90 days of the last labor or materials, and once it lands on your title, escrow will not close a sale or a refinance until it is released or bonded around.
Examples
The remodeler is paid $140,000 in full for a kitchen, then never pays the cabinet supplier, who records a $31,000 lien against the house four weeks after the final invoice.
A seller in Everett accepts an offer, then the title commitment turns up a $6,400 lien from a 2024 fence job the owner assumed was dead. Escrow holds that amount plus interest out of the seller's proceeds.
A general contractor hands over the RCW 60.04.250 disclosure at signing, and the owner writes joint checks payable to the contractor and the flooring supplier on every draw. No lien is ever filed.
Tips
Collect signed lien releases from every subcontractor and supplier at each draw, not only at project close. A release covering work through a specific date is what actually protects the title.
Open the pre-claim notices that arrive by mail. A Washington supplier sends notice within 60 days of first delivering materials, and that envelope is your only warning that a stranger can claim against your house.
If a lien is filed and you dispute it, record a lien release bond for 1.5 times the claim. The title clears, your sale closes on schedule, and the argument continues in court without holding up the money.
Related Terms
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