Code of Civil Procedure §726 is referred to as the “one action rule,” and the “security first rule.” It provides that, where there is a debt secured by real estate, there may only be one form of action to collect the debt, and that remedy is foreclosure. If it is…
A Loan Guaranty is a promise by the guarantor to pay the debt of another. In commercial real estate loans they are commonly used to provide additional security to the lender. Such loans are often given to new entities without a financial history, and the lender wants a person (with…
Loan guaranties are contracts in which the guarantor promises to pay the debt if the principal debtor fails to pay. This is not what happens when someone thinks they guaranteed a home mortgage loan for their son or their significant other- they are usually equally liable on the loan. A…
Mortgage loan brokers have a duty to mitigate the risk of possible loan fraud in California. The extent that title insurance would do this is a topic for another day, but brokers routinely arrange for title insurance for their lenders. Another protection against fraud is to have signatures notarized; at…
My last post discussed the relative hardship doctrine in California real estate law. This doctrine provides that, once the court determines that a trespass has occurred, the court conducts an equitable balancing to determine whether to grant an injunction prohibiting the trespass, or whether to award damages instead. If the…
When a court is considering whether to grant an injunction to stop an innocent (the trespasser does not know they are trespassing) trespass to real estate, the judge applies the balancing the hardships test – how is the owner whose property is being encroached upon, versus the hardship to the…
Often a party to a lawsuit will have great success at trial, resulting in a money judgment. Then the judgment holder tries to collect the judgment, and finds that the debtor is judgment – proof, has no assets, or files bankruptcy to avoid liability for that judgment. Sacramento business attorneys…
Option agreements for sale or lease of property often have a form of lease or purchase agreement attached, to be entered on exercising the option. The expectation is that, if the option is exercised, the attached contract will be signed by the parties and govern the transaction. Occasionally the option…
Letters of Intent are often ambiguous documents in which parties set out certain key terms of a deal, usually with the intent there will be further negotiation and documentation. They may also be called a ‘term sheet’ or “memorandum of understanding,” and are used extensively in California real estate transactions…
An easement is the right of an owner of property (the “dominant tenement”) to use the property of another (the subservient tenement”) for a specified type and extent of use. Most common are roadway easements, to allow the owner of the dominant tenement (the easement holder) access to their own…