I am a 23 year old Civil Engineer currently working for the government.

Most of the requirements for a security deposit return are spelled out in CA civil code section 1950.5.

This culminates with a trustee sale at the courthouse steps.A sheriff's sale, on the other hand, is a sale ordered by a judge as the result of a civil action.  

There are many violations of law that can lead to a felony conviction as well as civil suits that can then tarnish your reputation and character.

The proof in that is our civil war, in which business owners fought a war to keep their slaves.

Some elements that will make a condo non-warrantable are:* High investor ratio* Insufficient reserves/Bad financials* Litigation* Buying as investment vs primary/2ndWhen the condo is deemed non-warrantable for the specific transaction, then the only financing option left is a non-warrantable condo portfolio loan.Hope this helps.

@Christopher Smith,Group properties in LLCs so as to limit your losses in the event of successful litigation against you.

not a novice game.. simply go to  a land use planner or civil engineer in the area and retain them to do a due diligence report for you. 

If, over and above the sec deposit, they owe a few hundred bucks, I generally will not pursue litigation. 

I called the sheriffs office today and they passed it on to the civil division within the office.