California Real Estate Legal Questions

No, not joint tenancy.  The LLCs should own the property as tenants in common. Transfers of interests in real estate are done by a deed.  This can be a grant deed or a quitclaim deed that should be recorded with the county recorder.  You should also prepare a preliminary change of ownership report and an affidavit of uninsured deed.... Read More

Get this resolved. HOAs have very strong powers to assess fines, enforce them, add the attorney fees they incur to what you owe, and enforce it all by foreclosing on your home and selling it. I'm not sure what you mean by a lien agreement which does not state the details of the agreement. I suggest you ask an attorney to look at the agreement and answer your questions. You should be able to find someone to do it for $300-$500. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack... Read More

No. She will need to produce a drivers license or other government-issued picture ID for the notary who will notarize the deed of trust to secure the loan. What do her parents have to do with this? They aren't going to see the deed or the deed of trust. They are public documents and not that hard to get copies of, but they are not accessible on the internet,...yet, except through services which require a monthly subscription fee and a one year contract. Customer service at a title company will provide copies for free, if the parents were to ask a title company. Lots of married women retain their birth names. Divorce is common. Changing names is a nuisance, confusing, and can interfere with her career. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack... Read More

I have worked with a lot of HOAs, I have never heard of one sellling lots. Do you mean that the developer is selling lots and the lot owners will become members of the HOA? If a developer is selling the lots, then the HOA has no say about what prices are charged? If it really is the HOA selling the lots, the "business judgment doctrine" allows the Board of Directors very broad discretion to make decisionis within its powers. If the Board of Directors has the power to sell the lots, and there are no restrictions in the CC&Rs about how much they have to charge, then pricing is within theiir business judgment discretion. Most property is sold without the seller or buyer performing a formal appraisal. More commonly a licensed real estate broker or sales agent performs a price analysis. A price analysis is similar to an appraisal, but not as detailed or rigorous as a formal appraisal by a professional appraiser. The mere fact that an appraisal was not performed does not mean that the HOA Board had done anything wrong. What have similare lots sold for recently? If you call a local title company and ask for customer service, it should be able to provide you with a print out of comparable sales data. That data might not distinguish between properties which can accommodate a septic system and those which cannot. You might have to talk to a knowledgable real estate broker or a septic consultant to find that out. I would talk to a local broker. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack  ... Read More

  There is a state law which limits the ability of cities to prevent congregate care in areas zoned for residential use. I do not know whether such laws apply to HOAs and whether such laws supersede prohibitions against business use in the CC&Rs. I would have to look that up. I think most lawyers would. That state law is only a limit. It does not give a congregate care facility to do whatever it wants. Restrictions on parking, numbers of residents, noise, signs and other rules will still apply. If any remodeling work is required be sure to comply with any HOA approval requirements. HOAs Boards have very broad discretion and a lot of tools to force compliance, including assessing fines and enforcing the fines by a foreclosure sale of the property. If the HOA complains, you cannot ignore them. You must either satisfy them or convince them. In a recently reported appellate decision, a lawyer who lost a dispute over CC&R rules, got the attorney fees he had to reimburse to the HOA, reduced from over $1 million down to over $700,000. If you're going to fight an HOA, you better have an attorney make really sure that you're going to win. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack  ... Read More

  You want an experienced real estate lawyer, like me. If the fire department has determined that the condition of your property is a fire hazard, then you need to clean it up. A lawsuit will be much more expensive than paying someone to do the clean up. Even if you win, you cannot recover reimbursement for your attorney fees. On the other hand, the city can start assessing fines as high as $1000 per say, plus the costs of its inspectors going out to view the property and perform the paperwork to impose the fines. You and I would have to prove to the judge that the fire marshal had abused his discretion. The fire marshall has almost unlimited discretion to decide what conditions are fire hazards serious enough to require enforcement action. You would need photos that show your property is safe and the opinion of an expert witness. The expert would cost at least $5000.00, and even then, in a battle between the opinion of the fire marshall and the opinion of your expert, the fire marshall wins, unless the abuse of discretion is really obvious. Your neighbors' situation is irrelevant. In order to avoid fines, let the fire marshall know that you are hiring someone to clean it up and starting to ask contractors for bids to do the work. If you don't tell them something, they will start proceedings against you, probably civil proceedings for fines, but criminal action is theoretically possible. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack  ... Read More

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are worried about estate taxes, don't. There is no estate tax until the grantor's lifetime gifts and net estate at death exceeed $5,340,000. If you are trying to avoid capital gains tax, don't. The first $250,000 of capital gain ($500,000 for a married couple), on sale of a home the grantor has lived in for 2 of the last 5 years, is excluded and free of tax. And the heirs or legatees who receive the property when the Grantor dies, get a stepped-up tax basis and owe no capital gains tax. If the Grantor is trying to get the loan on the property off the Grantor's credit report, so that the Grantor can get a loan to buy something else, a quitclaim deed won't accomplish that, either. If this is a sale of the property, the grantee MUST get title insurance. In order to get title insurance, you MUST use a Grant Deed, not a quitclaim deed. Without title insurance, the grantee does not know whether the Grantor even owns the property. There might be other owners. There might be loans. There might be use restrictions which would prevent the buyer from doing what he plans to. As you can see there are a lot of reasons to NOT use a quitclaim deed. You should talk to a real estate attorney about whether or not you are doin the right thing. In order for the deed to be effective, it must be delivered to the grantee. In order for it to be binding against the world. The grantee must give the grantor something in exchange for it and record it in the official real estate records of the county where the property is located. The county recorder will require a Transfer Tax Affidavit and a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report. These forms are available on the recorder's website. Some counties let you write the transfer tax information on the deed. There will be a recording fee of $20-$50, deprending on the number of pages and how the legal description is written. The county transfer tax is $1.10 per thousand dollars of value. Some cities have city transfer taxes which can be as high as $15.00 per thousand dollars of value. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trustsor $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack      ... Read More

This is going to be a contractual and not a statutory issue.  Typically a lease agreement will state that the lease may not be assigned without the consent of the landlord.  Are you certain that your lease has an absolute prohibition on assigning the lease or does it state that it can only be assigned if you consent?... Read More

Whether or not you can cancel the sale of the house will depend on the terms of the purchase agreement.  Most likely, the contract is voidable by the buyer because the subject of the contract has been altered.  But in a practical sense, the escrow won't close if you don't want it to.... Read More

Yes, a small claims case is appealable to the superior court.  Did you make proper deductions and send the tenant a statement itemizing the deductions from the security deposit along with receipts for the expenses and the remainder of the security deposit to the tenant within 21 days of the tenant moving out?  If you did, then you don't have anything to worry about.  If you didn't, then return the money.... Read More

Regarding parking, there are two principal regimes. In one, the spaces are assigned on the county real estate records, either in the recorded condominium plan or in the first deed of each individual condominium unit. In the other, it is left to the Board of Directors to assign the parking spaces. In order to answer your question, you (or I) will need to review: the recorded condominium plan and any subsequent amendments to it, the first deed of your unit from the original developer to the first owner, the CC&Rs, and any subsequent amendment to that document, and your title insurance policy. If the first deed of your unit frm the original developer to that first owner, included specific parking spaces, the fact that subsequent deeds do not mention the parking spaces and subsequent actions by the HOA do not change the fact that those specified parking spaces are attached to that unit. In real estate law, we say that the parking spaces are "appurenant" to the unit. If the HOA controls the assignment of parking spaces, then you are out of luck. The law and courts allow the HOA Board of Directors very broad discretion in making such decisions. It will be overruled only in cases of abuse of discretion, which is a very tough standard to satisfy. Google "Business Judgment Doctrine" to learn about that discretion of Boards of Directors. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack  ... Read More

Ask Wyndham what you need to do to transfer the timeshare to someone else. It's probably accomplished by just an entry on its records. Most timeshares are not recorded in the county real estate records. Wyndham probably has a form. No, you do not need to "sell" it for $1.00. That's a common myth. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack    ... Read More

All you need are three volunteers, just you and two more. Voting is done by paper ballots in double envelopes. Once you have the three volunteers, send the members the ballot and envelopes, and get them to return them. Check your CC&Rs and Bylaws for the quorum requirement. You might only need half or less to return the ballots. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack... Read More

I suggest you obtain a restraining order to prevent the bully from contacting your girlfriend or coming within 100 feet of the house, so that your girlfriend can return to her home. Most courts have advisors on duty to assist persons who feel threatened obtain such orders. After it is issued, served on the bully, and delivered to the police, most police departments will respond to requests to enforce the court's order. Of course, that means you will have one less person to pay the rent. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack... Read More

If your ex had transferred the property into his own name, then it would have gone as directed in his will or trust, and if he did not have one, then to his children in equal shares, including any children from other mothers. Is there a court judgment that says that he gets the timeshare? If so, the timeshare company should honor that and accept his children as the lawful owners. If not, and if the timeshare was owned as community property, then when the two of you got divorced, you became tenants-in-common, not joint tenants. That means you already owned half, and the other half went as provided in his will, and if he didn't have a will, then to  all of his children in equal shares. In that case, the timeshare company should accept a transfer documents signed by you and all of his children. Most timeshares are not recorded in the county real estate records. Their just contracts between the buyers and the company. If that is the case here, then you need to satisfy the company, not a court of law. Ask the company what signatures it wants in order to make whatever transfer you want. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack... Read More

You've already got the game plan.  The Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013 (Civil Code section 841) states that a fence on the border of adjoining landowners benefits both neighbors and each must share in the costs of the repairing or maintaining the fence.  So at the very least, your neighbor would be responsible for paying for half of the costs to repair your common fence. In order to require the neighbor to pay for half of the repairs, maintenance or replacement of the mutual border fence, you’ll have to give 30-days written notice of the work to be done to your neighbor.  Then you can begin the work and if your neighbor doesn’t pay for half, then you can sue your neighbor for half of the costs.... Read More

The Good Neighbor Fence Act of 2013 (Civil Code section 841) states that a fence on the border of adjoining landowners benefits both neighbors and each must share in the costs of the repairing or maintaining the fence.  So at the very least, your neighbor would be responsible for paying for half of the costs to repair your common fence. In order to require the neighbor to pay for half of the repairs, maintenance or replacement of the mutual border fence, you’ll have to give 30-days written notice of the work to be done to your neighbor.  Then you can begin the work and if your neighbor doesn’t pay for half, then you can sue your neighbor for half of the costs.... Read More

If you like your home and can afford the payments, there is no reason to sell or abandon it just because it's currently worth less than the loan. Calfiornia real estate values continue to rise. Eventually, even your's is likely to catch up with the loan. If you can't afford the payments, is the house big enough to take in a boarder at a monthly rent or AirBnB "sharers?" In a short-sale, the lender should agree to accept 100% of the purchase price, minus commissions, closing costs and prorations, as payment in full of the loan. Make sure you get that agreement in writing. Make sure the agreement does NOT include any agreement by you to pay the unpaid portion of the loan, which is referred to as the "deficiency." In California, if the lender foreclosed, it could not recover such a deficiency. So why should it get the deficiency from you in a short-sale. If the lender foreclosed, it would have to add the house to its pool of such homes and pay the taxes and insurance, and pay to market and sell it. If you find them a buyer, such a short sale is likely to net them more than foreclosing and selling it themselves. If you refinanced, your tax basis might be less than the loan. Check with your tax preparer on the possible income taxes you might owe on the avoided deficiency, after a foreclosure or short sale. After you stop making payments, it takes a mininmum of 110 days to complete a foreclosure and then a few more weeks to evict you. Most lenders seem to wait months before starting the process. Some start the process and then don't complete it for years. I ran into a woman who has lived in her home for five years without making a loan payment, and the lender is finally getting around to foreclosing. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack... Read More