Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Deed note

You will be out of luck if he defaults on the first. He can be found. Contact me diectly.

Re: Deed note

You did WHAT? Did the "buyer" actually take title? Did escrow close? If the buyer could not qualify, why would you let him take cash from equity? That's a red flag. If this is what happened, and buyer did not take title, then I suspect you were scammed.

Re: Deed note

It sounds to me as though you are holding an unsecured note. It's not uncommon for home sellers to carry a second deed of trust to assist buyers who can't qualify for a bigger first loan, but such owner-carried seconds are recorded and become liens against the real property.

Who is in possession of the house in San Diego? Isn't that where the buyer can be found? Has he resold it, or rented it out? Collecting rents without making payments to you could be misdemeanor rent skimming.

You need to take immediate and effective steps to recover your money. Start by collecting all the documents, including copies of your letters to the buyer, but most important anything connected with the sale, such as the contract of sale itself, escrow instructions, lender's proposals, and the escrow closing statement. You do have one, of course?

Then, get copies of everything that's been placed on the record since the date of the sale from the San Diego County Recorder's office. Take it all to a real estate lawyer pronto!