Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Real estate lien

You need to cancel the deed based upon fraud. Contact me directly.

Re: Real estate lien

No, you can't put a lien on property without going to court and getting a judgment.

These seems to be a widespread belief that ordinary citizens who are owed money by someone else can simply file or record a lien without due process. This is a myth that may result from the fact that certain parties can do exactly that - "mechanics" for example, can record mechanics' liens against real property where they've contributed to a work of improvement by furnishing labor, materials or equipment. Tax collectors can also record liens. You and I can't.

There is, however, a process you can and probably should follow to straighten out this mess, and one part of the process will pretty much have the same effect as placing a lien on the property. The process goes pretty much like this:

(1) Get a lawyer to assist you. (2) see whether your parents are amenable to negotiation or whether it will be necessary to take legal action - this would be regrettable, but sometimes it's necessary, and your facts suggest that you think they've swindled you out of your house (I could misunderstand the implications of your brief facts, of course). (3) Lawyer works with you to develop legal theories that will get your house back, mainly fraud, possibly breach of contract, resulting trust, quiet title, etc. (4) Suit is filed, then a "lis pendens" (also known as notice of pendency of action) is recorded. (5) Suit is either settled out of court (very likely), or a judge decides who should own the house.

The recording of the lis pendens has virtually the same effect as a lien, since it is legal notice to everyone that there is a lawsuit under way, the outcome of which will affect the title, or right of possession, of the property described therein. Any attempt to sell or borrow against the property after the lis pendens is recorded will be subordinate to the rights of the winner of the lawsuit.

The above answer is based on my assumption that your beef is with the parents. If you are complaining that a lender or the escrow holder has made a mistake, the problem and the remedy are quite different.

Title disputes of this sort are a kind of specialty for me, and I would be pleased to discuss handling this matter for you if you contact me directly, or I could answer follow-up questions at no charge.

Re: Real estate lien

You cannot record a lien. You can, however, record a lis pendens after filing a lawsuit. A lis pendens renders title unmarketable. In other words, no reasonable buyer would buy the property and no reasonable lender would lend money on the property until your lawsuit is resolved. You appear to have a fraud claim. There also may be some things you can do short of a lawsuit to obtain resolution. If you are in the Southern California area, feel free to call or email with any questions. We practice out of Newport Beach and have handled several real estate matters like this.