property law

In some states, mortgagors who default on their loans and lose their mortgaged property may recover their property by exercising a right of redemption. To exercise the right, mortgagors must pay their lenders the full amount of their unpaid debt, plus any additional default-related fees. Rights of redemption are governed by state law, which varies on whether and how long rights of redemption persist after foreclosure.

Most deed of trust mortgages include a power-of-sale clause. This clause allows the trustees in deed of trust mortgages to do non-judicial foreclosures on delinquent borrowers - that is, foreclose without going to court.

See Mortgage Law.

Housing Courts are special courts used by many large cities to deal with disputes between landlords and tenants, cases involving housing code violations, and similar housing-related cases. Usually, these courts have special, abbreviated procedures. See Eviction.

When a court considers a lawsuit involving real property, the court may issue a notice of pendency as a provisional remedy. This notice is filed with the property's deed at the county registry. Once the notice is filed, even if the land is sold or transferred, it may still be used to satisfy judgments against the property owner in the lawsuit. Thus, a notice of pendency makes it effectively impossible to sell the affected property, or get a mortgage on it.

Quasi in rem: an overview

When hearing quasi in rem actions, a court may only affect a named defendant's interest in a specific named piece of property. These actions have similarlities with both in rem and in personam actions. As is the case with in rem actions, a court may hear a quasi in rem action if the named property is within the court's jurisdiction, even if the court does not have the power to exercise in personam jurisdiction over the defendant.

People are judgment-proof if they lack the resources or insurance to pay a court judgment against them. For example, suppose that a thief steals your car, sells it, and then burns all of his worldly possessions. Even if you sued him and won, you could not recover anything because the thief is judgment-proof.