The deed is a signed document that transfers title from the seller to the buyer. However, not all deeds are created equal. Below we outline the main kinds of deed used in California real estate and the level of protection they...

Spite Fences: When is a tree a fence? Just because you don’t like the way your neighbor’s fence blocks your view or its garish pink paintjob doesn’t make it unlawful (although if you have an HOA, you might have recourse through...

Real Estate Magic: Beating the bounds In a previous post, we described the ancient customs that led to the modern deed—what we might call the “magic” that still lies at the heart of modern legal practice. In the second installment in...

When buying real estate, it is easy to ignore the difference between the title and the deed—they just seem like two ways of saying you own the property. However, they are actually very different concepts, and it is important to understand...

Real Estate Transactions: The “As-Is” clause and the duty to disclose What does the “As-Is” clause really mean in a Purchase Agreement when buying real estate in California? The “as-is” clause is standard language in boilerplate real estate purchase agreements like...

Bankruptcy: What is a “Chapter 20” Bankruptcy? You may have heard someone refer to a “Chapter 20” bankruptcy or run across it on the internet. Since the Bankruptcy Code (Title 11) only runs to 15 chapters, what on earth is a...

Recently in our series on “Real Estate Magic,” we wrote on the ancient ritual of “beating the bounds,” or walking the boundary lines of parishes to etch them in living memory. But what are “bounds” anyway? We are all familiar with...

Lawyers sometimes discuss the way statutes and laws can be used in terms of shields and swords: how they can be used as defensive or offensive strategies. In the following case, we see that the right of contractors to place mechanic’s...

In our series on “Real Estate Magic,” we discussed the ancient system of metes and bounds, whereby the boundary line of a plot of land is defined by a set of “instructions” that trace the boundary from a starting point through...

Express Easements & Historical Use: “A Tale of Intertwined Claims of Right” A tale as old as time… “a tale of intertwined claims of right…” So begins the California appellate court decision in the suit of Rye v. Tahoe Truckee Sierra...