Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Forclosure after payment

I was in arrears on my mortgage. I sent them a check. They cashed the check. The day AFTER they cashed the check, they filed a default. Is this legal, what can I do?

Thank you for your help.


Asked on 3/12/03, 4:46 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Roy Hoffman Law Offices of Roy A. Hoffman

Re: Forclosure after payment

The answer depends on a number of things. For instance, did you pay them the total amount you were in arrears? Had you previously signed a forebearance agreement and subsequently failed to abide by the terms of that agreement?

You would be well advised to contact the mortgage company, explain the situation, provide a copy of the cancelled check, and ask them to stop the foreclosure proceedings. In California, even if the mortgage company is wrong, and files a foreclosure inappropriately, your remedy is to pay what ever their demand is, then sue to recover the excess money you have paid them. Alternatively, if you have some proof that they are doing this knowing that they have been paid, and for the purpose of depriving you of your properly wrongly, you may be able to convince a judge to issue a restraining order enjoining the foreclosure sale. However this is costly, and generally is not a successful approach.

If you cannot convince the mortgage company to stop the foreclosure, and provide you written proof that it has been halted, you should immediately contact an attorney in your area and arrange for a meeting. You should take all of the documentation you have concerning this situation with you so that the attorney can properly advise you.

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Answered on 3/12/03, 4:55 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: Forclosure after payment

I think it would depend upon whether you were still in default after the payment. Accepting and cashing a check does not automatically take you out of default. If the payment covered 100% of your arrearages (including interest and penalties) you could have a strong case, based on the facts given and assuming there were no other instances of default that remained uncured and the lender had not yet invoked an acceleration clause.

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Answered on 3/12/03, 4:56 pm
Elena Schumann FRESHMAN and SCHUMANN, Attorneys at Law

Re: Forclosure after payment

If you have in fact cured the default (paid the amount in arrears) then the Lender has 21 days to execute a "notice of rescission" which recinds the declaration of default. The trustee records the "notice of recission". They can only charge you the recording fee for this process. Any questions, give me a call at 310-273-6304.

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Answered on 3/12/03, 6:32 pm


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