• Guam’s new Lien Law became effective January 31, 2009, the 60th day following the approval of Bill No. 297(EC) by Acting Governor Michael W. Cruz. This Act repeals Guam’s 1962 Mechanic Lien Laws
• Subcontractors and vendors should provide the owner with a notice of their name and address, a general description of labor, service, equipment or materials furnished to a project, and the name of the person who ordered the same, with a description of the job site. This notice must also contain the following statement in boldface type:

NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER

If bills are not paid in full for the labor, services,services, equipment, or materials furnished or to be furnished, a mechanic’s lien leading to the loss, through court foreclosure proceedings, of all or part of your property being so improved may be placed against the property even though you have paid your contractor in full. You may wish to protect yourself against this consequence by (1) requiring your contractor to furnish a signed release by the person or firm giving you this notice before making payment to your contractor or (2) any other method or device that is appropriate under the circumstances. If labor, service, equipment, or materials have been furnished to a job site by a claimant who did not give a preliminary notice at any time thereafter, however such claimant shall be entitled to record a lien only for labor, service, equipment, or material furnished within twenty (20) days prior to the service of the preliminary notice, and at any time thereafter.

• The 90 day lien period may be reduced: If the entire project as a whole has been completed and the owner has mailed a Notice of Completion to the lien claimant at the address stated in the claimant’s aforementioned notice to owner, and the Notice of Completion is published in the newspaper. If the owner takes these steps, then liens must be recorded within 45 days. It should be noted that this shortened time period in which to file liens will only affect prime contractors and others who supply labor or materials during the last 45 days of a project. All others will still have the full 90 days.