I'm in CA and in 2004 I loaned a friend a considerable amount of money. He secured the loan with a straight note putting his house up as collateral. The terms of the loan were for him to pay me interest only for 3 years and at the end of 3 years the principal was due. A year and a half into the loan he stopped paying me. Said he ran out of funds and could he have a 6 month reprieve. I agreed. Not much else I could do. He has never continued payments. Every time I ask he says, he is sorry he has no money and couldn't possibly pay me. 9his wife got her masters in education administration and works full time) His loan was due in full in December of 2007.

I have consulted with 2 different attorneys who told me it would cost me $5,000 to get a judgement to file a lien against his property. Not having any money (this friend took all I had and left me with two foreclosures on my credit) I couldn't possibly pay them the $5,000. I don't want this guy to be able to up and sell his house when the market turns with out paying me back something.

Here is my question. If a contractor or a mechanic can file a lien against your property for unpaid funds. Isn't it possible for me to file a lien against his property for this unpaid personal loan with out having to pay $5,000. If I can file the lien myself how would I go about doing it?

This guy is a fraud and not only took my money, he took money from others all under the pretense of investing it in real estate. Several people were stuck with foreclosures after he spent funds collected on personal things rather then on house payments.

You needed to have had the loan wrote up as a second mortgage when it was written and filed, but you can not place a lien without a judgement.
Depends so much on how the loan was written, can I assume a lawyer did not do the loan papers?

No I didn't have a lawyer look over the straight note when it was written. He WAS a friend who I THOUGHT I could trust. I had faith in him and believed in him to do the right thing and then I got screwed.

I have been told by a lawyer the straight note is a legal and binding document in the event I want to sue for monies owed. Problem is, it takes money to retain a lawyer and if you don't get any settlement then you still have to pay the lawyer.

A friend suggested small claims court but he owes me $120,000 which far exceeds the amount permissible to sue for in small claims court.

I'll never trust any one again.

Trust them, just always do the paper work properly. Yes since it was a note, not a mortgage, you will have to get a judgement, You should find a cheaper attorney, this should be a very simple case, have you shoped around maybe a new attoreny that is just starting.

I had Prepaid Legal for awhile they quoted me $5,000. I got a referral for a lawyer from a friend he quoted me the same price.

Thank you for such a quick response to my question.

Since you're in California, go to: Certified Lawyer Referral Services Use the drop down menu to locate your county. You will get a referral to an American Bar Association recommended attorney and a free 30 minute consultation. Ask them all of your questions. Ask them if it's something you can do on your own. Ask them if they would be willing to take it on a contingency basis.

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

Trust them, just always do the paper work properly. yes since it was a note, not a mortage, you will have to get a judgement, You should find a cheaper attorney, this should be a very simple case, have you shoped around maybe a new attoreny that is just starting out.

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Fr_Chuck is right - you can't lien without a Judgment. Five Thousand Dollars seems high unless the Attorneys are basing their fee on a percentage, which is possible, but I obviously don't know all of the circumstances.

If that's the advice of 2 Attorneys - particularly one that is part of a prepaid firm - I would say the next one is going to say the same thing. I have found that by the time you get the opinion of the third Attorney you appear to be Attorney shopping and that third Attorney just may not be particularly cooperative.

You might almost be better off going to Small Claims Court and getting the limit there rather than paying an Attorney off the top - and ending up with pretty much the same amount.

Hello Left:

Well... from my point of view, it depends on whether a judgment would be collectible. If he HAS lots of bucks, and you KNOW it, then I wouldn't give up $115,000 to collect $5,000 in small claims court.

IF he HAS assets, and an attorney can find them, I'll bet you can make a contingency deal with a lawyer. That means he only gets paid if he wins. If I was a lawyer, I'd take that deal.

excon

I don't know what is the legal form (how to get download) to file against the property when property owner would borrow $100,000 from me?

In other words, I would find a legal way to loan money to my friend with property, the same as banks do on their mortgage to borrower.

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I don't know what is the legal form (how to get download) to file against the property when property owner would borrow $100,000 from me?

In other words, I would find a legal way to loan money to my friend with property, the same as banks do on their mortgage to borrower.

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That would be a mortgage, to secure a mortgage note.