Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

What possessed you to record a contract of sale? How did you get a contract of sale recorded without a legal description of the property? It sounds like you have been trying to do the legal and real estate equivalent of surgery on yourself. You need to talk to a lawyer in person and go over all the details with them to sort this out.

I agree with Mr. McCormick. I don't understand how you got past the county clerk.

I'd go to the Recorder's office and see if it were actually filed and is properly indexed. Sometimes documents accepted at the front desk get screened out. Sometimes when the property description is inadequate they are recorded but not properly indexed.

If it has been recorded, your escape route is probably the procedure set forth in the Civil Code, section 886.020. You should look it up and see if you can comply with it, noting also the preceding and following sections of the Code, 886.010, 886.030 and 886.040.

If you are a licensed real estate salesperson, you should also confer with your broker and your client.