The purchaser of property at an execution sale acquires any interest of the judgment debtor in the property sold (1) that is held on the effective date of the lien under which the property was sold or (2) that is acquired between such effective date and the date of sale.
§ 701.640.Interest Acquired By Purchaser
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 3. Execution · Article 6. Sale and Collection · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 701.640 gives the purchaser at an execution sale whatever interest the judgment debtor held in the property on the date the underlying lien became effective, or acquired between that date and the date of sale.
Full Text of § 701.640
Plain-English Summary
What exactly does a buyer at an execution sale get? Section 701.640 answers with a snapshot-plus-window rule: the purchaser acquires the judgment debtor's interest in the property as it existed on the effective date of the lien under which the property was sold, plus anything the debtor acquired in the interim, between that effective date and the date of the sale.
That timing matters because a debtor's interest in property can change between when a lien attaches and when the property is finally sold — the debtor might acquire additional rights in the meantime, and this section makes clear those additional rights pass to the purchaser too, not just whatever the debtor held at the very start.
Frequently Asked Questions
What interest does a purchaser at an execution sale acquire?
The judgment debtor's interest in the property as of the effective date of the lien under which it was sold.
Does the purchaser also get interests the debtor acquired later?
Yes, anything the debtor acquired between the lien's effective date and the date of sale passes to the purchaser as well.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: purchaser interest execution sale california