Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: grant deed

If you can prove that the deed was given to him as a security interest for the loan, then you have a situation described as an equitable mortgage. An equitable mortgage does not give the mortgagee the right to possession unless you have defaulted on the underlying obligation and he filed an action to foreclose.

This area of the law is factually intensive, and the more proof you have the better off you are.

You need to speak to a skilled attorney well versed with California's law regarding security interests in land.

Very truly yours,

Re: grant deed

I think there are two possibilities here. The first is that discussed by Mr. Roach - that the grant deed was asked for and given by you to the lender as a security device to secure the repayment of your loan, and that you were both fully aware not only that it was a grant deed, but also you knew or should have known that a grant deed will transfer title. All of this points to an equitable mortgage, and if so you can get your ownership back by a lawsuit showing by clear and convincing evidence that a secured loan, and not a transfer of ownership, was intended. Factors tending to support or help prove this case would be that the amount you received was disproportionately small in relation to the value (or equity) of the property, or that you had an option to repurchase the property.

The other possibility is that you were defrauded. There are two types of fraud possible here. In the first, you were unaware that you were signing a grant deed at all. If that were the case, the deed is void. The second type of fraud would occur if you knew you were signing a grant deed, but the lender promised not to record it unless you defaulted on the loan, but then recorded it anyway.

In any of these situations, you will have a tough court battle ahead to get title back (or keep it), and in addition you need to keep in mind that if you don't lose your house to the grant deed you might still lose it in a foreclosure on the loan.

Re: grant deed

We can review the chain of title to see what happened. Do you have any documents? Please contact us if you need any further assistance.