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By Contractors For Contractors!
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| When processing your preliminary notices in-house | |
| [Back to Page 4] - [Forward to Page 6] Hello! Below is a detailed outline of how to process the California 20-day Preliminary Notice form that is available here at our site. In the right column you'll find references to various products that will aid you with the processes involved with preliminary notices. Bookmark us, because you will want to visit again and again, to keep your paperwork in order! Be sure to subscribe to our free newsletter as it will keep you updated on happenings at our site, updates to our forms and ongoing news in the construction world. Download the preliminary notice formFirst, purchase and download a copy of the preliminary notice form that we use when we process our own prelims, by visiting this page (it'll open in a separate window so you won't lose your place here :).Fill in the preliminary notice formOnce you've got the form open on your computer, you'll be able to move your cursor over the various fields to fill in the applicable information. The fields each have little windows that will pop up when you "mouse-over" them, with instructions as to what needs to be entered into each particular field. We research all information to verify it. If you don't research and verify, you might miss someone. If you do miss even just one, it could cause you to lose your lien rights.Print the preliminary notice formAfter you've filled in the form, go ahead and print how ever many originals you need. You'll need one for each entity listed on the form as well as one for yourself.Prepare the certified mailing envelopeWhen you are preparing your envelopes and postal forms (the postal forms are discussed in the next section), you can do it much quicker if you use your computer (or typewriter) to print the addresses on labels. Each mailing requires you to provide the 'mail to' address three (3) times and your own return address a minimum of two (2) times. If you use your word processor application you can create the labels, print them, peel them and apply them to the required areas of your paperwork. Not only does this save you time but it also saves you from experiencing that wonderful 'writer's cramp'! You can also use your printer/typewriter to address your envelope(s), and just use the labels for the postal forms, which is much easier than trying to get those pesky little postal forms to stay put in your typewriter/printer so you can type on them... :) Please note that the Post Office has stated that they can better process your mail if you address your envelopes by typing, stamping, or printing extremely legibly, the recipient's address as well as the return address, in all CAPITAL LETTERS and no punctuation marks.Mail the preliminary notice formThe preliminary notice has to be mailed certified or registered, with the return receipt being optional. For a list of the fees visit the USPS.gov website. Even though requesting a return receipt costs more and isn't required, we still do request it and recommend that you do too. Once you have the return receipt(s) in your hands, you know that your notice has been served and your rights have been protected. Part 6 of this series of articles consists of a detailed walkthrough on how to keep track of your return receipts, rather than counting on the Post Office to do it for you. There are two postal forms you'll need to obtain from the Post Office, in order to mail your prelim certified:* Domestic Return Receipt PS Form 3811 July 1999 The easiest way to make sure you are preparing the certified mailing documents correctly is to go to the post office and get their help. Once they've shown you how to prepare your envelope and forms, you can grab a bunch of the forms and keep them in your office, along with enough postage to mail several notices. When I purchase postage I usually buy enough to mail between 10 and 15 notices. Once you've done this, you won't have to make any more trips to the post office to send your certified mail! We've been doing this for about 6 years now with no problems. Below is a list of all the sections available on this topic. The next section (Part 6) will show you how to organize and keep track of your copies of the certified mailing postal forms. Part
1 - Don't lose out on your lien rights! Thank you for visiting our site. I hope that this series of articles is helpful to you! I'm always happy to receive feedback, so please do send me a note if you have anything you'd like to tell me. Thank you!! :) Diane
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