Notice to Owner Success Story

I was working for a builder awhile back, and the client who we were building the house for had been really sticking it to us throughout construction. Nickel and diming for everything, a real haggler. This was also the summer that we had a hurricane every other weekend, so of course the project was behind schedule by a couple of months as we got towards the end. I start hearing rumors that the client was going to try to modify his loan early, and screw us out of our last draw, around $60K. I started looking at what I owed my subcontractors on the project, and they were owed right around $50K (this project was not a big money maker in the end). If I got stiffed the $60K, I wouldn't be able to pay the subs. So, a couple weeks before the closing, I had all my subcontractors still owed money send Notices to Owner to the owner, and most importantly the bank. In the end the bank cut checks directly to the subcontractors. I ended up not getting the last $10K that I was owed, but all my subs were paid, and only because they sent out the notices to owner. If not, they would have had to fight this guy for final payment just like I did. Once a homeowner modifies their loan, and "closes" on the property, it's hard to find a motivation for them to pay you, even if they owe you, and even if they got the money. You're relying on their good graces, with nothing else to support you.