Forbearance Agreements Must Be In Writing
Many plaintiffs in wrongful foreclosure lawsuits attempt to rely, at least in part, on what the lender’s representative “told them” over the phone or in person.…
Can a Foreclosure be “Wrongful” if the Debtor is Underwater?
In most successful “wrongful foreclosure” cases (challenging an already-completed trustee’s sale), the debtor’s most obvious source of damages is the lost equity in the wrongfully sold…
Sham Guaranties Are Hard To Come By
In prior posts here and here, I highlighted the difficult position occupied by guarantors of real estate secured loans. In short, while California law extends very strong anti-deficiency…
Junior Lienholders: Know When To Admit Defeat
As any real estate lender or investor can testify, holding a junior lien on real estate security can be perilous. Sure, the yields are higher (and…
Alterations Don’t Always Render a Deed Void (or How NOT to do Foreclosure Investing)
Most real estate investors assume that when a deed is altered by someone other than the grantor, without the grantor’s knowledge or consent, before it is recorded,…
Construction Loans Gone Bad
In January, I posted about a recent decision from the California Court of Appeal (Fourth District in Riverside), California Bank & Trust v. Del Ponti, which addressed…
Loan Prepayment Fees: Normally Enforceable, But ….
Lenders sometimes impose fees triggered by the borrower’s payoff of the loan before the maturity date. Normally, the “prepayment fee” issue is a subject for negotiation at the outset of…
Guarantor Waivers Can Only Go So Far
As I mentioned in a prior post, guarantors are usually in a tough position defending litigation by the lender because most guarantor defenses are lawfully waived…
Perils of the Full Credit Bid
At a nonjudicial foreclosure sale (also known as a trustee’s sale) a lender is entitled to make a “credit bid” — i.e., bidding all or portions…
Seven Critical Mistakes Real Estate LLCs Make (and How to Avoid Them) — Mistake #5: Misunderstanding Secured Loan and Guaranty Rights/Liability
Real estate secured loans inspire all sorts of litigation. I see it from both sides of the coin, since I represent developers and investors (who are…