Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: quit claim

Sure, but quit claiming your interest will not relieve your legal obligation to pay the loan. A quit claim transfers any interest you have in title. It does not affect the loan.

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Re: quit claim

Sure, but that doesn't take you off the loan obligations.

Re: quit claim

It sounds to me that you are mixing up the rights and obligations of real estate owners with the rights and duties of co-signers.

If you are ONLY a co-signer, you have no interest in the real estate. All you have is an obligation as a guarantor of the loan secured by the real estate.

Of course, you can quitclaim anything any time, but if you are not an owner or co-owner, the quitclaim is meaningless and has no effect whatsoever, except possibly to underscore your lack of ownership.

Further, quitclaiming has no effect whatsoever on your obligations and duties as a co-signer (a/k/a surety or guarantor) on the loan. Absent unusual circumstances (such as fraud), the only ways to get out of your obligation as a guarantor are for the loan to be paid in full, or to obtain your release from the lender, which it probably won't give.

Re: quit claim

The question is not can you, the question is why on earth would you? First, I can say without any hesitation that co-signing a loan is a terrible idea. You will be on the hook for that loan, and the inevitable foreclosure regardless of whether you are on title. There is a reason your co-signer (the buyer) can't qualify for the loan, and it essentially makes clear that fact that they will probably default at some point on the loan - underwriting criteria for lending is not arbitrary and without basis - people who don't qualify have been shown to have high default rates. This is exactly why we are in the mortgage meltdown we're in - because people got loans they couldn't afford and should never have received. I strongly encourage you to seek legal advice (not on these boards - go pay an attorney to review the matter in detail and tell you all the horror stories about co-signing a loan) before you sign any documents. I can't stress what a bad idea this is, particularly in this market of deflating property values.

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