Hellweg

Appellant, Jacqueline Monier Cassidy (Cassidy), obtained a loan secured by a deed of trust on the residential property she owned at 101 Fourth Street in Fillmore. The trust deed and beneficial interest were assigned from the original lender to the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). Cassidy owns the adjoining, unimproved property. She recorded an approved legal lot line adjustment to add 0.10 acre from the unimproved property to the residential property. Because she owned the adjacent, contiguous property, no new, separate deed was required to transfer title. She did not modify the deed to reflect the lot line adjustment.

Cassidy entered into escrow with respondents, Eric Hellweg and Debra Bereki, to sell the residential property to them. She told them that the sale property included the added 0.10 acre. At the time, Cassidy was in default on the loan assigned to Fannie Mae and she did not get approval for a short payoff. Consequently, the parties canceled the escrow.

Fannie Mae foreclosed on and acquired the property. The trustee’s deed upon sale reflected the legal description which existed before the lot line adjustment. However, directly underneath…