We live in a remote area in North Dakota and a few years ago we decided we were going to build a home. Unfortunately the more reputable builders were several years out on their availability and we were left with only one option. Our local regional bank provided a “rate lock” for a period of 18 months, and interest rates had started to rise slowly, so we decided to lock at 3.2% and proceed with a less reputable builder, under the guise that we would watch and monitor the build with private inspectors etc. We closed on our home on November 6th, 2023.

Of course it goes without saying that our experience was not good and the integrity of this builder was often called into question. Beyond this, the professionalism was non-existent and some of the conversations and emails exchanged really highlighted how awful this organization was at a very basic human level. Ultimately we got our house and our interest rate held, as awful as it was.

As of late we have heard that this builder is going is likely bankrupt and things are falling off the rails for them. As is no surprise, they have a lot of unpaid bills in the community and one has reached us with the header “THIS ACCOUNT IS PAST DUE! This is your first notice of our intent to file a lien unless this account is brought up to date!”

Obviously the bill is addressed to our builder and not to us personally. I would assume that from a contractual obligation ours has been fulfilled and these are people just looking to recoup what they can from unsuspecting and maybe uninformed home owners? Can they put a lien on a home that has been sold?