Missed Deadlines and the Hidden Cost of Working for Free as a Florida Contractor
Let’s be honest:
If you’re not paid for a job, the law doesn’t care how hard you worked.
It treats your labor like a donation.
And every year, Florida contractors lose serious money—not because they did nothing…
but because they stopped halfway through the process.
You Did the Right Things
Sending a Notice to Owner is the right move.
Filing a Claim of Lien is the right move.
Those steps put you ahead of most contractors.
But paperwork alone does not get you paid.
Follow-through does.
A Notice to Owner preserves your rights.
A Claim of Lien creates leverage.
Neither forces payment unless deadlines are tracked and the process is finished. Finished means paid in full even if it takes foreclosing on the lien.
One of the Most Expensive “Freebies”: Unsigned Change Orders
This one hurts because it happens every day.
Extra work gets done.
Materials are added.
Schedules change.
But the change order never gets signed and the price of change is never agreed upon.
When that happens, many owners and GCs treat that extra work as:
A gift.
No signed change order often means:
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No contractual obligation to pay
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No clear proof of agreed pricing
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Weak or lost leverage in a payment dispute
If the work was performed without documentation, it’s often assumed to be included—even when it wasn’t.
That’s still working for free.
Why Owners Don’t Panic Over Most Liens
Owners and GCs know the truth:
Most contractors:
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Miss deadlines
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Don’t track enforcement windows
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Never escalate
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Assume filing is enough
So they wait.
And when deadlines expire?
The lien dies.
So does your leverage.
“Unpaid” Is Bigger Than the Invoice
When a job isn’t paid, you don’t just lose the balance.
You lose:
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Time you could’ve spent on paying work
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Equipment value and repairs
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Unbilled materials (screws, tape, sealants, extras)
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Overhead that never stopped
If the job isn’t paid…
You paid for it.
Even partial payment often wipes out profit.
That’s still working for free.
Contractors Who Always Get Paid Don’t Hope
They Run a System
That system:
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Sends notices on time
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Tracks every deadline
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Files liens when payment stalls
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Documents changes before work is done
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Never lets enforcement windows expire
Owners don’t guess whether they’ll follow through.
They know.
Why Sunshine Notices Exists
Sunshine Notices makes sure the smart steps you already take—
actually lead to getting paid.
We handle:
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Notice to Owner
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Claim of Lien
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Deadline tracking
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Releases
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Guidance when payment doesn’t come
- Full list of our services
So nothing expires quietly while you’re busy running jobs.
Bottom Line
If you:
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Perform extra work without signed change orders
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File paperwork but don’t follow through
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Miss deadlines or enforcement windows
The system doesn’t protect you.
It lets you work for free.
👉 Protect the work you’ve already done.