Nguyen
Nguyen v. Calhoun
Opinion
Opinion
Wunderlich, J.
In this case, we are called upon to resolve competing claims of ownership to residential real property. The plaintiff claims his title as a result of purchasing the property from the previous owners, who were then in default on their secured real estate loan. The defendants claim their title as a result of purchasing the property the same day at the lender’s foreclosure sale.
The trial court gave judgment for the plaintiff. The defendants appeal.
For reasons explained below, we reverse the judgment.
Facts
The facts in this case are largely undisputed.
In May 1994, Josephina Sabedra, Tony David Chavez, and Tina Chavez (collectively Chavez) were the owners of a home located in San Jose (the property). At that time, Chavez obtained a loan, which was evidenced by a promissory note (the note) and secured by a first deed of trust on the property (the deed of trust).
The Chavez note and deed of trust were later assigned to Harbor Financial Mortgage Corporation (Harbor). Harbor’s business office was in Houston, Texas.
In December 1997, Chavez stopped making payments on the loan.
In March 1998, Harbor recorded a notice of default and election to sell.