In a recent California HESCA decision, a homeowner in Hillsborough was in trouble on their $1.3 million dollar home. On the day of the trustee’s sale, Monopoly Game LLC, owned by Gladney, made a deal to buy the owners equity for $100,000, plus another $50,000 if they moved out within…
A Preliminary Title Report (“Prelim”), issued by a title company before issuing title insurance, has long been held by the courts as only an offer to provide insurance. The Prelim is not a contract itself, nor is it something which can be relied on. The Buyers were purchasing property in…
In a recent California case, a homeowner sued their community Homeowner’s Association (“HOA”) for failing to enforce the Conditions, Covenants, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). They also sued other homeowners, who supposedly violated the restrictions. Apparently the parties had tentatively reached a settlement outside court just before the day of trial, so…
Fannie & Freddy were given a blank check by the US Treasury at the end of the financial crisis. As reported here, they are using that money to buy mortgages from Wall Street. These are bad loans sheets, probably at inflated prices. This is what “Tarp” was supposed to do,…
A California woman got behind on her mortgage, and the Lender recorded a Notice of Default, so the borrower filed a ch 7 bankruptcy. She intended to convert to a Ch. 13 to pay the arrears and save her house. U.S. Bank, trustee for the lender, told her that, once…
A condominium developer in Southern California got sued by the Association for construction defects. The developer filed a motion to compel arbitration under the provisions of the CC&Rs. The court said no! Recorded CC&Rs are made binding in disputes between owners, or owners and the association, because of their shared…
An a foreclosure sale investor had an oral arrangement with an agent at a California title company. He would ask the agent if the loan being foreclosed was the senior loan; he only wanted a yes or no answer. He asked about an Encino property, was told ‘yes’, and so…
Lenders on California properties are averaging 367 days from the first late payment and a foreclosure referral, as reported by The Big Picture. This is the time before the notice of default is recorded. The standard used to be three months of late payments before the lender referred the loan…
A California condo owner sued his association for repair costs In plaintiff’s suit against the homeowner association for repair costs to his condo aused by a leaky sewer pipe beneath the concrete slab underlying plaintiff’s condominium. The association argued that the sewer pipes were exclusive use common areas, so the…
California’s Solar Shade Control Act gained some notoriety in 2005 when some homeowners were criminally convicted of a violation, requiring them to prune their trees. As a result the law was revised to eliminate criminal prosecution and make it more workable for homeowners. The Act provides that, once a solar…