When life falls apart, it often takes a property down with it — a foreclosure notice, an inherited house no one wants, a divorce, a lien, a fire, a tenant who won't leave. In these moments, ordinary real estate advice is useless. There's a deadline bearing down, equity on the line, and no time for staging tips or spring-market strategy.

DISTRESSED is the field guide for exactly that moment. Drawing on more than twenty-five years as a California Realtor — eighteen of them specializing in distressed property — Edward Rodarte delivers the practical playbook he's used at hundreds of kitchen tables with people who were certain they'd hit the end of the road.

Organized by situation so readers can turn straight to their chapter, the book covers pre-foreclosure and the foreclosure clock, short sales, tax and HOA liens, code violations, divorce sales, probate and inherited homes, title problems, partition disputes, reverse mortgages, bankruptcy, selling before a lawsuit, tenant-occupied rentals, squatters, fire- and flood-damaged and hoarder homes, selling under medical or relocation pressure, and fast as-is cash sales. Each chapter offers plain-English explanations, real California timelines, ranked options, the mistakes that cost people their equity, action checklists, fill-in worksheets, and guidance on when to call a professional — plus a Southern California resource directory.

But this is more than a how-to. Rodarte — author of Healing the Inner Brat and Fuck Average — frames every distressed property as a crossroads, and shows readers how to protect their equity, safeguard their families, break generational cycles, and turn what looks like a loss into the foundation of lasting wealth.

For any homeowner, heir, or family facing a property in crisis, DISTRESSED turns panic into a plan — and a hard ending into a stronger beginning.

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