Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I refinanced my home with Ameriquest, they sold the loan to HSBC, I do not know how long ago, but 9 years+ have passed since my refinance. For some reason the Deed of Trust was not recorded so my property has no recorded loans. HSBC has a signed copy of our Deed of Trust and are sueing us to force us to re-execute and notarize a replacement Deed of Trust to establish HSBC first priority lien in Official Records. This sounds like they have a claim against the title company which insured the loan which they purchased from Ameriquest and that they should not be sueing me, the little guy who can not sleep at night. I am not being foreclosed on, am not late on my payments and have not filed for bankruptcy and have no known credit issues. According to the papers they sent to me they as=re sueing me in excess of $25,000 and want a 2-day jury trial. This all sounds like they are trying to put me in a financial position where I will end up in foreclosure as I will not be able to pay the money they have requested. I dont now why the Title Company will not just record the signed copy of the Deed they already have. Do you have any advise for me?
1 Answer from Attorneys
I absolutely have advice for you - stop trying to keep the lender from having the valid lien on your house that they are entitled to. Sign the new Deed of Trust. You are making a huge mess for yourself for nothing. The lender is entitled to have a valid Deed of Trust. You don't get to have a house free and clear of liens you agreed to and took the loan for, just because of a clerical error. The title company is almost certainly the one SUING YOU, or at least funding it. The title company doesn't have to pay the claim if they can give the title they promised. So they are going to sue you into the ground, or fund the suit, rather than pay the claim. And you WILL lose. There are MANY reasons they may not be able to record the Deed of Trust they have. You are creating this problem for yourself where there should be none. You have foolishly gotten yourself sued instead of just doing the right thing and signing a correct Deed of Trust. I worked for the parent company of Fidelity and Chicago title companies for years and every once in a while we would come across someone like you who just couldn't get it through their heads that we had every right to get a corrective document for our client and if they refused to give it to them we were going to have to sue them into the ground. Don't be one of those people. If you really think you have some valid reason for refusing to sign a corrected Deed of Trust, call me or another lawyer right away. Otherwise, agree to sign the damned Deed of Trust in exchange for a dismissal, and hope that they don't stand on their right to attorneys fees under your loan documents.