Real Estate Law Articles


What Is a Deficiency Judgement in a Foreclosure | Debt After Foreclosure

Will I Owe a Debt After Foreclosure?
Well, let’s begin with a different question: will I be sued after a foreclosure? Whether you can be sued after a foreclosure depends on whether your state is a deficiency state or an anti-deficiency state (you want anti-deficiency).
What is Anti-Deficiency in a Foreclosure?
An anti-deficiency law is a law [...]

What Is Property?

LearnAboutLaw Staff July 2007
Property is any thing that is commonly recognized as being the possession of a thing or group. Important types of property include real property (land), personal property (physical possessions), and intellectual property (rights over artistic creations, inventions, etc.). Property can be tangible (objects such as cars, clothing, or a dead fox) [...]

Homestead Exemption

LearnAboutLaw Staff July 2007
What is a Homestead Exemption?
A Homestead is, quite simply, a legal device that protects a person’s residence (or a portion of it) from creditors. A judgment creditor cannot levy on the homestead portion of a person’s residence. The amount of homestead protection differs widely by state. Texas and Florida offer unlimited homestead [...]

Asset Protection With a Friendly Lien

LearnAboutLaw Staff, June 2007
A friendly lien is simply a lien against property that you own that is held by a party or parties that is friendly to you. Some other terms used to describe this device are “friendly mortgage”, and “friendly loan.” The classic example of a friendly lien is as [...]

Foreclosure Law | Foreclosure Help | Stop Foreclosure

July, 2007 Introduction
Foreclosure is the process by which a bank or lender takes possession of collateral used to secure a loan. Put another way, foreclosure happens to a homeowner when he or she doesn’t pay their mortgage.
Foreclosure is not always a court action. There are two types of foreclosure: judicial foreclosure and trustee’s sale [...]

Deficiency Judgement, Anti-Deficiency Laws, California and Elsewhere

July, 2007
As we noted in Foreclosure Law, foreclosure is the process by which a bank or lender takes possession of collateral used to secure a loan. Put another way, foreclosure happens to a homeowner when he or she doesn’t pay their mortgage. And, in California Foreclosure Law, we looked more closely at the law [...]

California Foreclosure Law | Foreclosure in California

As we noted in Foreclosure Law, foreclosure is the process by which a bank or lender takes possession of collateral used to secure a loan. Put another way, foreclosure happens to a homeowner when he or she doesn’t pay their mortgage.In California, there are two types of foreclosure: judicial foreclosure and trustee’s sale (non-judicial) foreclosure. [...]

1099 After Foreclosure - Cancellation of Debt & Anti-Deficiency

Here we take a closer look at the phenomenon of 1099 Cancellation of Debt income following a foreclosure.
Why Foreclosed Homeowners Receive 1099s for Cancelled Debt
First, the basics: if you owe a debt to someone else, and that debt is forgiven, the IRS Code treats that forgiven debt as income to you. Does it make sense? [...]

What Happens After Foreclosure

Foreclosure is the process by which a bank or lender takes possession of collateral used to secure a loan. Put another way, foreclosure happens to a homeowner when he or she doesn’t pay their mortgage.
There are two types of foreclosure: judicial foreclosure and trustee’s sale (non-judicial) foreclosure. Some states use one or the other, and [...]

Credit Repair After Foreclosure

How Does Foreclosure Affect My Credit?
Foreclosure devastates credit–the only greater “derogatory” on a credit report is a bankruptcy. If you follow your FICO scores, you would tend to see a drop in the 120 to 150 point range. The amount of the drop will vary depending on the other items on your credit report. A [...]

1099 After Foreclosure | Cancellation of Debt Income

As we noted in Foreclosure Law, foreclosure is the process by which a bank or lender takes possession of collateral used to secure a loan. Put another way, foreclosure happens to a homeowner when he or she doesn’t pay their mortgage. And in What Is a Deficiency Judgement in a Foreclosure | Debt After Foreclosure [...]