Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: putting a lien on property

You cannot simply place a nonconsenual lien. You either need permission from the homeowners; and this can be done with a Deed of Trust. Or you need to sue to obtain a judgment lien.

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Re: putting a lien on property

You may be mistakenly thinking of yourself as being in the position of a contractor or materials supplier, who can often place a mechanic's lien on property he has provided labor or materials to improve. Putting money into property does not entitle the investor or lender unilaterally to place a lien on the property.

Most ordinary liens result from deeds of trust, unpaid taxes, or judgments.

You basically have two possible approaches. I would classify them as friendly and unfriendly. The friendly approach is to have them execute a promissory note to you for the amount all of you agree would be owed, plus a deed of trust to secure the note. A local title company would be able to draw up the documents for a modest fee (and might also want to sell you some title insurance) or you can have a lawyer do it.

The unfriendly approach is to get a judgment against them and have an abstract of judgment recorded. You can get a judgment by bringing and winning a lawsuit, in which you would have to prove that you are owed a particular sum, or that you would be entitled to reimbursement of a particular sum upon sale of the house. It is also possible to obtain a judgment by obtaining the consent of the debtors to judgment, without trial, in open court. This seldom happens, but it is possible.

A major issue is probably going to be proof of an obligation to repay you; if you have a written contract and good evidence of the amounts, this is less of a problem; but juries and courts have a tendency to think that money given to offspring to fix up a house is probably a gift, especially if there was no written agreement for repayment.

I would suggest that before you embark on any hostile path with your daughter and son-in-law, that you take a long-term view of what might happen to family relations and feelings.

Re: putting a lien on property

Love fishing for Steelhead on the Smith. Anyway, the likely answer to your question is that you don't have any lien rights. You can "lien" a property only a few ways (relevant in this case). One via a mechanic's lien. To be entitled to this lien (which is time sensitive), you must have been someone who worked to improve the property (like a contractor or a supplier of construction materials). The other lien is a mortgage or deed of trust (or some other type of loan, in writing, which was designed to be secured by the property, and which can be recorded on title to the property). Without that, the only lien you can likely get is a judgment lien. To get this lien, you need to sue, obtain a judgment, and record an abstract of judgment with the county recorder where the property is situated. Be careful before doing something that can affect title to property. If you are wrong, you can be liable for defamation of title and/or subject to a lien expungement motion or lawsuit. I deal with these issues frequently. If you have further questions, feel free to email or call.