Page v. Dawes

Citations

• 7 Cal. 575

Syllabus

<p>Where the owner of a lot contracted for the erection of a house thereon, and agreed to pay certain sums of moneyj as tho work progressed, and, on its completion, to convey a certain other lot, for which purpose R releases a mortgage on the lot, and during the work, the owner of the lot on which the building was being erected, mortgaged it to R, and subsequently, on its completion, by agreement with the builders, gave his note for ten thousand dollars, instead of the lot he was to convey; and the builders filed a notice of lien, and assigned note and lien to plaintiff: Held, that so much of the claim as represented the value of the lot which was to have been conveyed, must be postponed to the mortgage.</p> <p>The lien of the contractor, if filed in time, takes effect, by relation, from the date of the commencement of the work, and all persons who deal with the property during the work are charged with notice of the claim of the contractor. But if a party informs himself of the nature of the contract between the owner and builder, and takes a conveyance of the property, subject to it, no subsequent change of the terms of the contract can create an incumbrance which will have priority of his conveyance.</p>