Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: foreclosures

Individuals cannot create involuntary liens on someone else's property, in general. There is an exception created by the California Constitution for mechanics' liens. Other than that, liens can be placed by taxing authorities and judgment creditors.

To put a house in your name, the usual way is to buy it, i.e., have the owner sell it to you by giving you a deed. In addition, if you are the beneficiary under a deed of trust securing a loan, and the loan is in default, you can foreclose and have a good chance to be the winning bidder at the foreclosure auction.

Note that both foreclosure and buying the equity in defaulted properties is highly regulated by law, and all of the processes and transactions you seem to be considering require a lot of legal and practical knowledge to carry out without mis-steps that can get you in big trouble. Defaulting homeowners have many legal protections which can be overcome by creditors, equity purchasers, etc. but it is not an area for beginners.