Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Your grandmother and you should locate and review all of the CC&Rs;and rules to see whether the 55 requirement applies to ownership or occupancy. There are numerous possible sources for this information including the papers she received upon purchase, the Recorder's office, the HOA or manager, a lawyer who lives there, and/or a real estate broker with a specialty or a high volume of listings in this development. Such restrictions usually apply to residency, but might also apply to ownership.

If the proposed selling price and terms reflect the true current market value of the property, the following concern doesn't apply, but this might be a warning to others. Gifts or below-market sales of homes and other property to relatives and friends can create two kinds of problems. First, if the purpose, or even the effect, of the sale or gift is to insulate the property from creditor claims (such as MediCal), it is probably fraudulent, and both participants may end up liable for damages when the transfer is discovered and set aside by a judge.

Second, inter-generation transfers lack certain major tax advantages that can be obtained when property is inherited by will or, even better because it avoids probate, living trust.