Someone bought a property in Berkeley, then discovered that there was an easement across it that no one told her about. She sued her broker and the seller’s broker for failing to disclose the easement. The buyer’s broker brought a cross-complaint against the seller’s broker for “equitable indemnity.” Under California…
California anti-deficiency laws provide in some cases that on foreclosure the buyer/borrower has no personal liability; only the property is at risk. The law primarily protects residential properties; but in some cases buyers of commercial property can be protected. What follows are five steps to determine how the anti-deficiency laws…
In a recent case in San Francisco, the landlord served a three-day notice, but never filed an unlawful detainer. The parties entered a settlement agreement, and the Landlord was sued by the Tenant for fraud and other claims relating to the pre-settlement conduct. Seems that the landlord was attempting to…
Under California law, “benefit of the bargain” damages for breach of a real estate contract is the difference between the actual value of what the plaintiff got and what he expected to receive. If Joe breaches his contract to buy a house from Sam for $100,000, and Sam later sells…
As noted in prior blog post the Fed confirms the end of program to buy mortgage securities which has been financing US debt. There is some evidence that the asset-backed securities market is already responding, and China has become a net seller of US Treasuries. The Fed claims they are…
In my previous post, I discussed a case where the parties had a “non- refundable” deposit in their real estate purchase contract, but the court refunded it anyway. Liquidated damages are damages whose amount the parties agree during the formation of a contract for the injured party to collect as…
A California Buyer entered a contract to buy Seller’s California beachfront property for $14 million. The agreement required a total of $620,000 in non-refundable deposits. The agreement did NOT contain a liquidated damages provision. Buyers backed out of the deal, and Seller sold to someone else for $15 million- one…
A California Broker entered a contract with a Buyer to locate commercial property for development; the broker would be representing the Buyer exclusively. They located a project, and the Buyer entered a contract to buy the property from the seller. The contract also required the seller to build over 175…
As reported in the Financial Times, the Federal Reserve plans to end its special program of buying mortgage securities in March. This program was implemented to keep mortgage costs – that is, the home buyer’s interest rate- artificially low to create a boost to real estate sales. The expectation is…
A recent California court decision addressed this issue, with surprising results. The B’s renovated their earthquake-damaged residence and, in the process, encroached on the neighbor’s land. The neighbors sold, and the new neighbors sued the B’s for the encroachment. The B’s insurance company refused to defend the lawsuit, claiming that…