Bankruptcy is governed by Title 11 of the United States Code, commonly called the Bankruptcy Code. The chapters of this code govern the process of bankruptcy, which is why we refer to a “Chapter 7” bankruptcy. (The chapters run to 15,...

Real Estate Transactions: Basic Terms Although real estate is often the largest purchase and debt commitment the average person is likely to make in their life, these transactions are often made as if they were routine and with little attention paid...

Bankruptcy: California Homestead Exemption Increase On January 1st, 2021, the new California Homestead Exemption amount went into effect, exempting a minimum of $300,000 equity, up to $600,000, adjusted annually for inflation. The old California exemption was woefully low for modern real...

Real Estate Transactions: Legal Vs. Equitable Title A quiet title action seeks court assistance to establish the plaintiff’s ownership of a property in opposition to a defendant’s claim. This is a dispute over who holds the “title” to the land. However, the quiet title action...

Real Estate Transactions: Deed of Trust Vs. Mortgage If you are buying real estate in California for the first time, you might be surprised that the bank or other lender financing your purchase is securing the loan with a “deed of...

Real Estate Transactions: 3 Stages of a Transaction In this post, we will outline the basic steps of a real estate transaction in California. For the terms used in this post, see our previous post, “Real Estate Transactions: Basic Terms.” The steps in...

California’s One-Action Rule The “One-Action Rule” under California real estate law is actually two rules that work together to protect borrowers from harassment suits by the lender. The law is set out in the California Code of Civil Procedure Section 726....

This is the last installment in our 4-part series discussing the typical steps for a California real estate buyer when defects are not disclosed in a real estate sale, which are likely similar to the steps you may encounter for other...

This is the third installment in our 4-part series discussing the typical steps for a California real estate buyer when defects are not disclosed in a real estate sale, which is likely similar to the steps you may encounter for other...

This is the second installment in our 4-part series discussing the typical steps for a California real estate buyer when defects are not disclosed in a real estate sale, which are likely similar to the steps you may encounter for other...