At a recent workshop I attended the issue of retainage and lien law rights came up. In Michigan you have 90 days from the last date of labor to enforce your lien rights. The type of work we perform has us as one of the first contractors on site for most projects and typically the project isn't near completion at the end of the 90 day period. However, as I am sure most of you can attest, filing a lien against all of your projects will quickly land you in the "do not invite to bid" list. The attorney said that she advises clients in this position to ask the owner, GC, or CM to put the retainage in an escrow account. I was wondering if anyone has done this and what their approach and success rate is? We historically haven't had an issue collecting our retainage but it would be nice to have some additional assurance.
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Nicolle Taylor-Sheafor CCIFP
CFO
Hardman Construction, Inc.
Ludington MI
(231) 316-5326
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