As 2012 draws to a close — faster than many of us can believe — the dawn of a new era under North Carolina’s mechanic’s lien and bond statutes quickly approaches. And that means it’s high time for me to end my brief blogging hiatus with a series dedicated to helping construction industry participants throughout the state understand the changes that are rapidly coming down the pike.
By way of brief recap, legislation protecting general contractors from double payment liability on public projects and legislation protecting title insurers from “hidden liens” on private projects made splashy headlines this past summer. I’ll be delving into the nuts and bolts of those significant changes as this series continues. This post, however, is dedicated to addressing a less-publicized, but no less substantial, alteration to the lien law that every potential lien claimant will need to bear in mind in 2013, and beyond: the process by which lien rights are “perfected.”