For a total list of all the real-estate laws digested by first tuesday for the 2009 legislative session, click here.

Downpayment purchase-assist CalHFA loans may be subordinated to refinancing

Health and Safety Code § 51504
Amended by AB 12
Effective July 15, 2009

Piggyback downpayment loans made by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) may now be subordinated to refinancing if the agency determines:

  • the borrower has demonstrated hardship;
  • subordination is required to avoid foreclosure; and
  • the refinancing meets the agency’s underwriting requirements for maintaining its junior financing.

Subordination will be on terms and conditions determined by CalHFA.


Mobilehome owners may use anyone they prefer to remove, purchase, or install their home

Civil Code § 798.71
Amended by SB 804
Effective January 1, 2010

The ownership of a mobilehome park may not require mobilehome owners to use a specific broker, dealer or mover to purchase, install or remove a mobile home unit on a space in the park.

Tenant presumed to be the owner of abandoned records

Civil Code §§ 1980, 1983, 1993, and 1993.03
Amended by AB 1094
Effective January 1, 2010

Personal property remaining abandoned on a vacated premise after the tenant’s right to possession has been terminated now also includes records.

If records remain on a vacated premise after the tenant’s right to possession has been terminated, the tenant alone is presumed to be the owner of the records.

Records of the tenant are any materials or equipment which record or preserve information including:

  • written or spoken words;
  • graphics;
  • printed materials; or
  • electromagnetically transmitted items.

Public directories are not considered records.

Notice of Mechanic’s Lien
Civil Code §§ 3084, 3146
Amended by AB 457
Effective January 1, 2011

 

A Mechanic’s Lien now has the same definition as a Claim of Lien used by contractor on construction project to record and begin their collection process for unpaid labor or materials. This definition has been amended to include:

  • a Notice of Mechanic’s Lien to advise the owner of the contractor’s rights, the content of which is:

NOTICE OF MECHANIC’S LIEN ATTENTION!

Upon the recording of the enclosed MECHANIC’S LIEN with the county recorder’s office of the county where the property is located, your property is subject to the filing of a legal action seeking a court-ordered foreclosure sale of the real property on which the lien has been recorded. That legal action must be filed with the court no later than 90 days after the date the mechanic’s lien is recorded.

The party identified in the mechanic’s lien may have provided labor or materials for improvements to your property and may not have been paid for these items. You are receiving this notice because it is a required step in filing a mechanic’s lien foreclosure action against your property. The foreclosure action will seek a sale of your property in order to pay for unpaid labor, materials, or improvements provided to your property. This may affect your ability to borrow against, refinance, or sell the property until the mechanic’s lien is released.

BECAUSE THE LIEN AFFECTS YOUR PROPERTY, YOU MAY WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOUR CONTRACTOR IMMEDIATELY, OR CONTACT AN ATTORNEY, OR FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MECHANIC’S LIENS GO TO THE CONTRACTORS’ STATE LICENSE BOARD WEB SITE AT www.cslb.ca.gov

  • a completed proof of service affidavit showing the:
    • signature of the person serving the Claim of Lien (Mechanic’s Lien) with its Notice of Mechanic’s Lien;
    • date of service;
    • place of service;
    • manner of service; and
    • name and address of the person to whom service was made;

Service of the Claim of Lien (Mechanic’s Lien) with its Notice of Mechanic’s Lien and proof of service must be made on the owner by:

  • registered mail;
  • certified mail; or
  • first-class mail.

The service must be evidenced by a certificate of mailing, postage prepaid, addressed to the owner at the owner’s residence, place of business or at the address shown by the building permit on file.

If the owner cannot be served by this method then the notice may be served in the same method to the construction lender or to the original contractor.

Service is complete at the time of mailing.

Failure to serve the Notice of Mechanic’s Lien and the proof of service will render the mechanic’s lien unenforceable.

In order to foreclose on a mechanic’s lien, a lis pendens notice must be filed on or within 20 days after the filing of the mechanic’s lien foreclosure action.