Given the rule that recording a deed within 15 days after the sale means the recording is treated as if it occurred 8 AM the day of the sale, is there any scenario where recording later during that 15 day period rather than earlier can result in any greater risk or harm?
You can run into a lot of issues if you do not record within 15 days. If you do not record within 15 days, then your date of legal ownership is the date of recording. A prior owner could have filed a bankruptcy during that time or anyone (especially IRS) could record a lien against the property during that time. If you do not have legal recorded ownership prior to those liens being recorded, then you could be liable for a senior lien that occurred before your ownership because the lien was not ‘wiped out’ by the foreclosure.
GJ, thanks, I understand recording > 15 days after sale can cause serious problems. I may not have been clear on this, but I was trying to verify whether I should care how soon during the 15-day period after sale these events happen: (1) receiving TDUS, or (2) recording TDUS, or (3) receiving recorded copy of TDUS in mail. Given what I’ve read so far, I can only think of these reasons:
CA law may not permit serving a 3-day notice and/or 90-day notice (or filing the subsequent unlawful detainer action) until one has the deed (or has recorded it, or has the recorded copy)?
If a buyer contacts the prior owners (e.g., if they still occupy the property) before getting the deed, they might try to stop the trustee from sending the deed.
Are there any other potential reasons?
Before a buyer receives the deed, can a trustee legally reverse the sale by sending back payment, or should they remain bound by the sale once the auction has occurred? If so, is the practical problem that unless the buyer already has the deed, legal action is required to compel the trustee to transfer title and in the meantime, the buyer would only have a legal claim against the trustee but would not own the property?
After a buyer has received the deed (even if it’s not yet recorded), am I correct that the transfer cannot be reversed by anyone (except by means of the same type of lengthy legal proceeding that would be required to reverse a sale after the deed is recorded)?