Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

You definitely need an attorney. I handle real estate law including some lender and mortgage disputes. If you make your payments, the lender cannot refuse to cash the check in order to foreclose - though they may try if they are dishonest. If you have proof of your payments, then you should be able to prove to me and everyone that you are up to date with your mortgage payments. You could potentially make a good profit from this transaction, but you need an attorney. Please send me an email with your name and contact info.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

[email protected]

415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC

870 Market Street, Suite 1161

San Francisco CA 94102

http://www.danielbakondi.com

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A $97k loan can not now be $155k payoff, unless you refinanced at some time to increase the loan. Hire a local attorney to determine the truth and help correct the problem.

Running a 4-plex is a pretty serious business, ordinarily involving management, collecting rents, finding tenants, and paying bills. An owner of a 4-plex would also ordinarily keep records, figure profits and loss, file tax returns, and the like. Therefore, it will strike most attorneys as odd that fourteen years into the deal you are out of touch with the status of your loan, the payments, balance due, etc. Have you been letting someone else manage this property? If so, you might want to get a third-party audit of the books, records and management practices.

Sometimes loans have "negative amortization" where the payments don't cover the interest, to say nothing of reducing the principal, so the balance due increases. However, this one seems to be way out of hand, and it's somewhat doubtful that a legitimate loan could get this far over the original principal balance.

Yes, you should consult with a lawyer at once - not just because of the seemingly too-high payoff demand, but also because of the refusal to accept additional payments, the foreclosure threat, and to assist you in getting full value in the school purchase negotiation or condemnation action.