All guides
Deadline situations
California foreclosure timeline: what each notice means if you need to refinance or sell
Notice of Default, Notice of Trustee's Sale and the reinstatement deadline: a plain guide to California's nonjudicial foreclosure timeline.
Notice of Trustee's Sale received: what can still close in 20 days
A Notice of Trustee's Sale sets a date at least 20 days out. Here is what has to happen, in order, for a sale or refinance to beat it.
Reinstatement vs. payoff in a California foreclosure
Reinstating cures the default and keeps the loan; paying off ends it. How each figure is calculated, when each is available, and how to request them.
Estates, trusts & heirs
Selling or holding a California probate property when the estate needs cash first
How IAEA authority, court confirmation and estate cash needs shape the financing options for a California probate property.
Buying out a sibling's share of an inherited California property
One heir wants to keep the house, another wants cash. How a buyout is sized, who signs, and when a loan is business-purpose or consumer.
Borrowing as a successor trustee: documents and authority
A successor trustee can often sell or borrow without probate. What the trust must allow, and the documents title and lenders ask for.
Deal structure
Bridge loan exit strategy: the first question a private lender asks
Why the exit (sale, refinance or DSCR takeout) matters more than the entry on a short-term bridge loan, and how to document it.
LTV vs. LTC on a fix-and-flip: a worked example
Loan-to-value, loan-to-cost and after-repair value explained with one hypothetical flip, so you can see which number limits your loan.