Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: assignments and leins forms

I don't know what you mean by "this" form. Do you mean a form with a name similar to your caption, "assignments and liens?" Or did you mean to refer the LawGuru panel attorneys to a particular form by attaching a scan? I'm confused.

Let me give a general answer that might help you and other LawGuru readers. Contracts in general are assignable unless they call for a personal service or rely upon the credit-worthiness or other special characteristics of the buyer. This is true of real estate contracts as well. Contracts may also be made non-assignable by having a non-assignment clause within them.

Most real-estate purchase deals call for the seller to be paid in full at close of escrow, either by virtue of an all-cash sale or payment of the balance by the buyer's lender. Thus, unless the seller carries back part of the purchase price, there is no issue of the buyer's credit worthiness and the contract can be assigned. Even when the seller is carrying part of the purchase price as seller financing, if the seller gets a lien on the property sold, the contract will still be treated as assignable because the seller will be considered as relying on the property sold as collateral, and upon the credit of the assigning buyer.

Where an assignment is intended, the contract will usually be written to specify that the buyer is "John Doe, or nominee" to put the seller on notice of the buyer's intention to assign to someone else.

Even where the purchase contract is not assignable, it is often possible to carry out the deal as though it were assignable by using a so-called "double escrow" where title passes first from seller to the named buyer, then immediately to the desired assignee.

If you are a party to a real property transaction where an assignment of rights is desired by the buyer, and it is otherwise a pretty simple deal, your real estate broker can probably assist you with selecting and filling out a suitable form. If it is a more complex deal, you will probably need an attorney-drafted assignment and the lawyer who writes it will need to read all the paperwork including the title report and purchase agreement and will need to understand the deal from top to bottom.

Re: assignments and leins forms

Assigning a real estate purchase will require the assistance of an attorney. unfortunately I am not in the business of suggesting or helping fill out forms for the general public. When you decide to take this matter more seriously, call me