Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: getting name off propery

By paying off the loan. Anybody can sign away his interest in the property by quitclaim deed, but that doesn't remove or change his liability under a loan.

Re: getting name off propery

First, be clear that there's a big difference between ownership, or part ownership, of real estate, on the one hand, and being liable on a loan secured by the property, on the other. Selling the property doesn't take you off the loan. (In most ordinary real estate sales, the buyer pays off the seller's loan, either with cas or with a new loan).

The really sure-fire way to get off a loan is to pay it. This can be done either with cash, or with the proceeds of a new loan on which only the other party is the borrower. In other words, a refinancing.

Some lenders, on some loans, will re-do the loan to remove one co-borrower's name in some circumstances. I have heard of this happening in divorce property settlement situations, and perhaps it could be done on a co-borrower's death or other situations. It wouldn't hurt to ask the lender.

Lenders are often reluctant to re-write existing loans in any way, for any purpose, because re-recording the new obligation gives it a lower priority and the lender may drop from first to second or lower position. They sometime get the other liens to subordinate, but this is a lot of paperwork and the lenders will probably charge a fee for re-writing the loan, if they are willing to do it at all. That's why payoff or refinancing is easier and surer.