A California quiet title action can be brought to establish legal or equitable right, title, estate, lien, or interest in property or cloud upon title against adverse parties. Sacramento and Yolo real estate attorneys occasionally advise clients who, not being able to pursue an action, are interested in assigning their…
In California contracts sometimes a party is obligated to use “best efforts” to accomplish a goal of the contract. For example, a contract to buy real estate may be subject to a condition to obtain financing. In such a case, the implied covenant of good faith requires the buyer to…
Boundary disputes are common in California real estate, in all cases- residential, commercial, and agricultural properties. Experienced Sacramento and Yolo real estate attorneys often see cases of adverse possession and prescriptive easement claims. Another theory that is occasionally used is the doctrine of boundary by agreement. In this scenario, when…
A California slander of title suit is a claim that someone published a false statement about real estate which harms the properties value or salability. One of the requirements of the claim is that there be a direct pecuniary loss. In Sumner Hill v. Rio Mesa, A subdivision was built…
It is a general rule of California real estate law that a forged deed is “void,” not merely voidable. Therefore it cannot convey title, even to a good faith purchaser. A good faith purchaser is one who has no knowledge or suspicion of a problem, and pays reasonable value for…
Often easement disputes revolve around the extent of the use, or interference with use. Usually an easement for road access purposes involves a dispute when the use increases dramatically- for example, a residential property becomes a heavy equipment yard. Or, the owner of the servient tenement (the land over which…
“Unclean hands” is a defense used in courts, in which a party claims the other side in not able to obtain relief because he comes to court with unclean hands- he has acted in bad faith or unethically. [Technorati J64A92HRG74M] The rule is sometimes stated “those seeking equity must do…
California law provides double damages for harm caused to timber, trees, and underwood. Civil Code section 3346. Recently a Court applied it to harm caused by trimming a neighbor’s tree. It also found that the statute awarding attorney fees against an unlicensed contractor who causes harm (CCP 1029.8) cannot be…
With rates at an all time low, many in California are rushing to refinance their real property mortgage loans. Often, borrowers are not aware that they may expose themselves to personal liability if they refinance the loan they originally used to buy their residence. California has a number of statutes…
For tax purposes, housing debt that is forgiven or written off is treated the same as income. The difference between the short sale price, or price at a trustee’s sale, and the loan balance may be forgiven debt. It can be considered income, which is reported by the lender on…