California Injury Attorney Blog

California provides a distinct and orderly process to sell real property
under a writ of execution. Code of Civil Procedure §§701.510, et. seq. This
method has a number of important safeguards for the debtor built in. These
include:
• Personal service of notice on the debtor;
• An opportunity for the debtor to respond;
• Title report or equivalent is obtained and reviewed;
• Fair Market Value and homestead exemptions are determined;
• Debtor given minimum 120 days from notice to sale; and
• Homestead Property must sell for at least 90% of determined Fair Market
Value.
Due to the strictures of this process, there are a number of reasons why a
judgment creditor might not obtain satisfaction in the end. Consider these
common issues:
• The execution method requires cash on sale or within 10 days and these
days, buyers with cash are looking for a better deal than 10% under fair
market value
• Buyers are not able to walk through and inspect the property before
buying resulting in a lower bid price, especially on questionable properties
• A mistake is made in the process, where the process must begin again
• The sale lacks the benefit of common open market sales like listings on
the Multiple Listing Service, aggressive marketing by a licensed real
estate agent, ability for buyers to obtain financing, inspections and repairs,
etc.
• The sheriff or levying officer has numerous responsibilities and cannot
devote any significant amount of time toward insuring completion of the
sale or other "special attention"
If you are in a situation where you have gone through an execution sale
without success or have a business or collection matter appointment of a receiver may well provide some satisfaction in your case.

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