Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Settlement of a credit issue.

Normally when you have complied with all the terms and conditions (i.e. made all the payments) of a conditional sale or secured loan agreement, the party holding title as security should deliver clear title to the buyer.

When some kind of a work-out becomes necessary because the buyer fails to comply, or indicates an inability to comply, with the terms of the initial financing agreement, the new agreement becomes controlling. The lender does not necessarily have to give you the right to obtain clear title. In other words, you may have agreed to new terms that are more like a lease than like a financed sale.

The only way to know for sure is to read the settlement agreement. Somewhere in there lies the answer to your question. The words of the agreement are a much better and more reliable source of your answer than are the people who answer the phone at the lender's office, who are probably as uninformed as they are uninterested.

If you do not understand the legal language of the agreement, see a lawyer.