Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: she won't leave the house.

I'm moderately surprised that a loan that's 14 months delinquent hasn't been foreclosed already!

Is the loan a first? A purchase-money loan? Is it the only loan on the property, or at least the only one for which you are a co-signer or signer?

Although there will be harm to your credit rating, if the answer to the foregoing questions is "yes," you are probably safe from the lender coming after you personally for anything, before or after a foreclosure sale. If the property is not insured, which is a possibility, you may have some exposure to liability to third persons who might be (for example) hurt on the property. You might also be vulnerable to a suit for something like loan-application fraud, if any of the numbers on your mortgage application were hyped.

If I were you, I'd go to the county recorder's office and look up the recent records applying to that property. See if there has been any activity, such as refinancing, further borrowing, a notice of default, a notice of sale, or maybe even a truatee's deed. You are better equipped to deal with possible problems if you have good and complete data.

However, other than credit damage - and you are not alone! - not much is likely to happen to you as a result of a foreclosure and sale.

Re: she won't leave the house.

It's too late to 'protect yourself'. That had to be done at the time. You now can either pay up the note current, renegotiate the loan, or face default foreclosure. Choose your poison. Sure, you can sue her, but that isn't going to repair your credit.