Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
The following is in regards to Adverse Possession in California.
The following information is being provided in the event it is pertinent to my questions. If the information is not relevant, feel free to skip to the four questions at the bottom of the page.
I was the owner of my residence in a residential neighborhood and had a primary loan and a heloc through the same bank. I was injured in an accident, could not work and fell behind on both loans. The primary loan fell into foreclosure. I received a Notice of Default on March 19, 2007. I returned to work, paid the primary loan current bringing it out of foreclosure. I received a Notice of Rescission dated July 13, 2007 on the primary loan. In August 2007 I made a mortgage payment on the primary loan via personal check which the bank cashed. On August 21, 2007, I obtained a cashier�s check to bring to heloc current. Immediately after I obtained the cashier�s check a realtor agent contacted me at my residence to discuss vacating the property due to its foreclosure. I showed the agent the Notice of Rescission on the primary loan and the cashier�s check for the heloc. The agent stated in July 2007 the property foreclosed on the heloc. I stated I was not aware the heloc was even in foreclosure and raised the question, if I had known the heloc had foreclosed in July 2007, why would I obtain a cashier�s check for the heloc on August 21, 2007. The agent stated they would look into the situation and also dropped the issue of vacating the property. After speaking to the agent several times on the phone, they stated something did not appear correct and put me in contact with an individual from the company that handled the foreclosure. That individual stated they would investigate the issue. The individual eventually put me in contact with a representative from the bank that held the loans. The bank representative also stated they would investigate the issue. After speaking to the bank representative many times, I was told the primary loan no longer existed but the bank would be willing to reinstate the heloc. I was told to be patient because it would take time for the heloc to be reinstated. Our contact via the phone continued for a substantial amount of time and at one time the bank representative asked me if I would consider vacating the property if the bank paid me two thousand dollars plus returned the money I had previously paid to rescind the foreclosure on the primary loan. I declined the offer and stated I wanted the heloc reinstatement. I was never given an explanation of what exactly occurred with the heloc and/or the foreclosure other than the situation was very complex. The bank representative eventually put me in contact with another individual who worked for the bank. At one time this individual told me a packet was going to be mailed to me to reinstate the heloc. I never received the packet and eventually could not reach the individuals and lost contact with them. I eventually came to believe there was no intention from the bank to reinstate the heloc. Other than with my initial contact with the realtor agent in August 2007, at no time has any entity or person requested I vacate the property verbally or in writing. To this date I have not paid the bank any money and I still live in the residence. All mail addressed to me for the last 15 years has been addressed to the residence in question.
My questions:
(1) In August 2014, seven years will have elapsed since the foreclosure date on the property.
Since I have lived on the property for 15 years can I file an Adverse Possession with the court �now� or do I have to wait until seven years has elapsed from the date of the foreclosure?
(2) According to the County record, the property taxes were last paid in January 2009.
Will an Adverse Possession be affected by California Assembly Bill No. 1684?
(3) If Assembly Bill 1684 will not affect filing an Adverse Possession, according to the county record the last date to keep the house from being sold by the city by starting a tax payment plan or paying the property taxes in full will be in the middle of 2014.
Will it matter if I start a tax repayment plan now and pay the balance prior to filing an Adverse Possession in August 2014 or should I pay the entire tax balance to insure I have paid the five years of taxes required to file an Adverse Possession in the court?
(4) If I start a tax payment plan, will the bank be notified of my partial tax payment or can or will the bank find out I paid a partial amount?
(5) If I start a tax payment plan, can the bank then also pay part or all of the tax due to interrupt me from meeting the requirement of having to pay five years of property taxes to qualify to file an Adverse Possession in the court?
(6) Is there any other information I should be aware of considering the issue?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You have to have been in adverse occupancy of the property for the statutory time. You can't be adverse to yourself when the property was in your name. So the time only counts (and I'm not saying it does count since the bank seems to have permitted you to stay) from when you lost title.
AB 1684 was chaptered in 2010. Of course it applies now.
AB1684 says the taxes must have been paid current and on time for five years. If you want a legal opinion regarding how long you have to take coming current, you will have to hire a lawyer. On the face of the statute, you would have to come current AND pay on time the next five years. Courts may have interpreted the statute otherwise, but that is beyond the scope of an internet question, especially a free one.
If the property is coming up for tax sale, your simplest solution may well just be to buy it at the tax sale.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
