Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: do i give a grant deed and then use a deed of trust?

I guess you are selling your property without using a real estate professional. I reccomend using an agent. If you don't want to pay a commission, at least use an escrow and/or title company to process the paperwork and handle the closing and recording. If you don't go through an escrow there is a possibility that you will lose ownership of the property before you gain it back in the form of collateral for the seller financing. Also, presumably the buyer will want title insurance and other professional services in connection with the purchase and financing.

Technically you are right, you would use a grant deed to convey the property to the buyer and a note and deed of trust to make a secured loan contract for the financing, but there are major risks in not doing the execution of all documents through a professionally-managed escrow process. You could lose your collateral.

Re: do i give a grant deed and then use a deed of trust?

You need several things. First, you need a properly drafted purchase agreement - not a contract you have written. Sale of real estate is too important to be left to anything but a properly constructed contract, especially in light of your decision to finance 100% of the purchase price. Second, you need a properly drafted set of loan documents. Even the smallest error her can cause you trouble in the long run. Finally, you need to escrow the sale through an established escrow company. Saving a few dollars here by doing it yourself is almost certainly going to guarantee that you will be spending tens-of-thousands of dollars on attorneys fees down the road. Finally, you need to review with an attorney the propriety of carrying 100% financing. Without even seeing the deal, I can tell you I would strongly advise you against doing so.

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