Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I'm not sure what the debt to your husband has to do with your question. Is his debt secured by the property? In any event, granting a deed of trust is a security interest. You have not given away the 20 acres, you are just creating a lein against them in the form of a "mortgage" If you want to transfer only some of the property rather than all, you may be able to do so, but you may have subdivision issues to deal with. You need to see how title is structured, and you need to engage real estate counsel to work through this with you. When you say the home and land will be worth 225,000 does this include all 20 acres? Or is this the home and a small portion of the property on which it is located? If the total value of 20 acres and the home is only 225,000, and you are now in debt 80,000, does it make economic sense to incur the construction costs and risks of building? That is a pretty cheap house. Obviously only you can deternine the economic desirability of your plan, but it does raise questions. Please clarify your inquiry.