How to Determine Your Primary Residence – Part 2, the Homestead Exemption
The post How to Determine Your Primary Residence – Part 2, the Homestead Exemption appeared first on Bay Area Real Estate Law Blog.
View ArticleCaution to REO Investors
REO Investors – California Law Favors the Bidder in Foreclosure Defense Lawsuits When foreclosure investors and REO purchasers in California attend a trustee’s sale and pay cash for the house, they...
View ArticleWhat Lenders Should Know about Temporary Restraining Orders and Foreclosures...
There are only two silver bullets to stop a foreclosure sale. One is the automatic stay provision from when the borrower files bankruptcy, and the other way to stop the trustee sale is through a...
View ArticleAfter A Borrower’s Default – What Lenders Can Expect
California Law allows for two types of foreclosures, judicial and non-judicial foreclosures. While judicial foreclosures are considered in situations where there might be a deficiency, due to the time...
View ArticleCalifornia Backs MERS Right to Foreclose
Recently, there have been a series of decisions throughout the nation about Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”). Some, predominantly cases in state court, hold that MERS can...
View ArticleIbanez and Its Effects on California
On January 7, 2011, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, in U.S. Bank National Association v. Ibanez, held that a foreclosure sale was void if the lender could not prove that it had the power to foreclose...
View ArticleWe’ve Seen Some Weird Stuff
Over the years, we have encountered a number of strange fact patterns which tend to stand out in our collective memory. Below is a list of some of the more unusual: Seller was a hoarder who entered...
View ArticleHow Does Robo-signing Impact Foreclosure Investors?
The Impact of Robo-signing on Foreclosure Investors and REO Purchasers in California By: Henry Chuang, Esq. Recently, with the announcements of foreclosure moratoriums from some of the largest banks in...
View ArticleIbanez Revisited: Massachusetts Court Voids Trustee’s Deed
Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Supreme Court voided a foreclosure sale due to the lender’s inability to prove that it had obtained the right to foreclose. (See my article on Ibanez for an...
View ArticleBankruptcy Judge Voids Foreclosure Sale.
In a surprising ruling in August 2011, a bankruptcy judge in the Central District of California voided a foreclosure sale that occurred before the borrower’s bankruptcy filing. Normally, a...
View ArticleBorrower “Mass Action” Lawsuits Against Banks Dealt a Double Blow
On August 18, 2011, Attorney General Kamala Harris sued three infamous California law firms who had been signing up distressed homeowner clients for ~$5-10k fees to file frivolous lawsuits against...
View ArticleExtreme Deal Hunting, Part 2: Buying at Foreclosure Sales
Last month, I wrote about buying property from bankruptcy estates as a potential way to get a discount on your purchase. Another way investors are getting large discounts is by buying property at...
View ArticleFederal Court Holds That There Is Still a Difference Between a Note and a...
Although most people in California refer to a loan secured by a house as a mortgage, the legally accurate terminology is a promissory note secured by a deed of trust. There are two different theories...
View ArticleHow to Determine Your Primary Residence
One of the surprising aspects of lending law is the fact that the definition of one of the most basic terms is still in dispute. While one would think the term “primary residence” is clear, there is...
View ArticleForeclosure Bidder’s Frivolous Lawsuit Bites the Dust
UPDATE: This case was appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and was affirmed in part, and reversed/remanded in part. Read the update here:...
View ArticleAfter the Foreclosure, Lender Recovers Against Borrower on Court’s Expanded...
On June 27, 2012, the Third District Appellate created a new way for lenders to recover on loans after a nonjudicial foreclosure. In Fait v. New Faze Development, the court found that while the...
View ArticleCalifornia Passes Foreclosure Reduction Act
On July 2, 2012, the California Assembly passed the “Foreclosure Reduction Act” which substantially overhauls the non-judicial foreclosure process. Non-judicial foreclosures constitute the vast...
View ArticleBankruptcy Court Finds Exception to “Snapshot” Rule.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that in order for debtors to receive the benefit of the homestead exemption after a forced sale of their home, they must reinvest the proceeds in...
View ArticleNo Tender is Required Pre-Foreclosure
In California, one of the biggest hurdles for borrowers who are challenging a foreclosure sale is the tender offer rule. The rule requires that the borrower offer repayment of the entire amount owed...
View ArticleNo Deficiency on Settlement Agreement for a Note
Recently, in Weinstein v. Rocha, a California appellate court held that if a deficiency is barred by the anti-deficiency statute, a creditor cannot circumvent that protection by pursuing a settlement...
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