Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Is a note legal after the time period has expired

Private note on house was due in 1998. Person respondible for note no longer lived in house but continued to pay same monthly payment until 2001. Due to a problem not disclosed at purchase the house was unable to be sold. Person respondsible got enough money to fix problem and house is in escrow. He is being told that he does not owe interest from 1998 to present. Beneficiary demands full payment. Whose right?


Asked on 6/15/01, 12:39 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: Is a note legal after the time period has expired

A promissory note will continue to accrue some form of obligation for interest if it remains unpaid after it falls due. If the note does not specify a rate post-maturity, the beneficiary would be entitled either to so-called "legal interest" or the court would order interest at the pre-maturity rate specified in the note.

Therefore, the beneficiary is probably right unless the borrower has some kind of counter-claim based on the problem with the property that your question alludes to but does not describe.

If the borrower feels strongly that he is not responsible for all of the principal an interest, he should take all the paperwork to a real-estate attorney prior to giving escrow instructions or allowing the escrow to close.

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Answered on 7/02/01, 5:22 pm
Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates

Re: Is a note legal after the time period has expired

Well I cannot understand the facts as you state them! As far as a note being enforcible after the note was due, both parties can waive that provision by accepting and receiving payments after the note was due. I am prosecuting a case right now where by the terms of a note, payment was due 10 years ago, however, both parties waived that provision by offering and accepting payments after the due date, then when the payments stopped, my client demanded payment in full, did not get it, then sued!

If you are in SoCal and want a free consult call 818-998-1484

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Answered on 7/02/01, 1:24 pm


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