property liens
What California law pertains to liens priority when an assignee in a deed of trust doesn&#39;t properly record their claim?
<p>Question in title. Googled it and couldn't find anything</p>

<p>The question implies that the original deed of trust was timely recorded and my answer assumes that this happened.</p>
<p>Generally, an assignee of a deed of trust take the priority of the assigned deed of trust prior to assignment, even if the assignment is recorded later. This is because the assignment doesn't change the obligations of the debtor relative to the creditor.</p>
<p>Failing to record an assignment is not the same as failing to record their claim. Their claim was already of record and the assignee stands in their shoes.</p>
<p>Sometimes an assignee has more rights than the original deed of trust creditor, because the assignee may be a bona fide purchaser for value of a deed of trust with no knowledge of matters not in the public record that impair the deed of trust claim (such an assignee is called a &quot;holder in due course&quot;).</p>
<p>For example, in an owner financed office building sale, the original deed of trust obligation would be subject to setoff for undisclosed latent defects in the office building sold, but a holder in due course assignee of the original deed of trust would not be subject to a setoff counterclaim.</p>
<p>I don't believe that holder in due course rights of an assignee would be impaired by a late recording of an assignment either. But this is an analysis that I haven't researched as closely and is less obviously true.</p>
