The distinction between the two is made by examining the lowest course of block - right at the floor level.

Joel is completely correct in his distinctions between cash for keys and a deed in lieu.

From this thread I gather than @Nicholas Quinn has done this several times, but only with his wife, and that may be a special case.If I understood correctly, @Dion DePaoli says you can sign the mortgage but not the note or the loan application, which is a distinction I was not aware of.

I should have made the distinction.

The search engine is not very robust, so you either need to scan through all the notices for a particular county and time span, or choose a distinctive word (such as subdivision name) on which to search.

@Shaun Reilly Really appreciate you reaching out, Shaun - I very clearly remember listening to the podcast when you were a guest and being distinctly impressed by your success, especially since I've lived and worked in this area for many years now!

We actually have budget surpluses, businesses that want to move here and a distinct lack of regulations compared to CA.

Once you have made that distinction, study it, take action and go for it.  

Guidelines can vary but the above is for conventional.You can cash out up to 70% of market value up till you recover all of your acquisition and closing costs if you cash out under 6 months after a cash purchase (no other liens on the property or lines of credit).If you cash out after 6 months you can go up to 75% off the lower of purchase price or market valueIf you cash out after 12 months its based on market value - Its important to make a clear distinction on what constitutes a cash out refinance or a rate/term refinance (regular refinance with less than 2k back to borrower at close).

This is an important distinction because if you're non-conforming due to an approval of some sort (think more like a variance or a special permit) then it's kind of once approved always approved.