Also known as: réméré · redemption · repurchase right
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An equitable right of repurchase that permits a grantor who conveyed property by absolute deed intended only as security to recover title by repaying the underlying debt.
Ronald Reed conveyed his ranch to Rocky Mountain Mining by warranty deed to secure a loan. When the lender sought to lease the land to a third party, Ronald asserted his right to remain in possession until repayment. The court recognized that the deed functioned as security and allowed Ronald to retain possession pending tender of the debt.
Rita Russell granted a security interest in an automobile located in State Y to a lender in State X. Both states apply identical rules on a debtor's right of repurchase. The court aggregated the contacts and treated the transaction as occurring in a single state for choice-of-law purposes.
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Rowan Russell defaulted on a mortgage secured by her warehouse. The lender initiated judicial foreclosure to cut off Rowan's right to repurchase the property. The court scheduled a sale and confirmed that the foreclosure proceeding would terminate the equitable right upon completion.
Ralph Richardson's property was sold at foreclosure for less than the debt. Within the statutory period Ralph tendered the sale price plus interest and costs. The court held that the purchaser took subject to Ralph's statutory right of repurchase until the period expired.
Rajesh Rao conveyed land by absolute deed to secure a loan and simultaneously signed an agreement waiving any future right to repurchase. The court declared the waiver void because it unreasonably restricted the equitable right to redeem by repayment.
Roland Rhodes delivered an absolute deed to Ridgeway Partners in exchange for funds advanced. A contemporaneous side letter stated the deed secured repayment and allowed repurchase upon tender. The court admitted the side letter and treated the deed as a mortgage permitting repurchase.
An absolute deed transfers legal title on its face yet is treated as a mortgage when extrinsic evidence shows it was intended only as security. The grantor retains the equitable right to repurchase by repaying the debt, and courts admit parol evidence to establish that intent.
Foreclosure terminates the equity of redemption. After a foreclosure sale the mortgagor may still exercise any statutory right of repurchase that exists in the jurisdiction by paying the sale price plus interest and costs within the statutory period.
No. Any agreement that unreasonably restricts or waives the right to repurchase is void as a clog on the equity of redemption. Courts refuse to enforce such provisions because they undermine the protective policy of mortgage law.
Under the title theory the mortgagee holds legal title and the mortgagor possesses only the equity of redemption. Under the lien theory the mortgagor retains legal title and the mortgage creates a lien. Both theories preserve the right to repurchase by repayment before foreclosure.
The contacts are treated as if grouped in a single state. The case is therefore decided under the common local law rule on the debtor's right of repurchase without further choice-of-law analysis.
…him for so doing. Moreover, the principle on which defendant relies does not apply when the marriage in question is beyond redemption ( Glickman v. Collins (1975) 13 Cal.3d 852, 858-859 [120 Cal. Rptr. 76, 533 P.2d 204]); whether or not defendant's marriage to Betty was beyond redemption when defendant contracted with…