Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: foreclosure question re. property in another country

The answer is "it depends". It depends first upon whether or not the lender has any recourse against you personally after they foreclose. That is something you will need to discuss with an attorney as there are so many factors that determine whether you will be liable for a deficiency. Second, it depends upon how large the deficiency is, assuming there is even a right on the part of the lender to pursue you. For smaller amounts, going after property in another jurisdiction is going to be cost-prohibitive. For really large amounts, they might consider doing so. Finally, you need to look to see if the property in the Phillipines is somehow "cross-collateral" for the loan on the property in California. Sometimes lenders will include additional properties as security for repayment of certain types of loans. Put really simple, if the mortgage you are walking away from in California is for a single family home, that you occupied as your primary residence, then odds are very good that the lender will not pursue you.

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Re: foreclosure question re. property in another country

If you only have one mortgage, and it's a non-judicial foreclosure, the lender could take the house, but not any money owed on the loan minus the new sale price (deficiency). If there's a second lender, that could be problematic if the second lender learns of your property ownership elsewhere. I don't know if the Philippines has homestead laws like CA does. In that case, you might investigate to protect some or all of the equity overseas.