Facing Foreclosure? Here Are Your Options

Your Foreclosure Timeline

If a Notice of Default has landed on your Los Angeles County home, you still have options and, in most cases, more time than it feels like. California foreclosures are usually nonjudicial, meaning your lender's trustee can sell the house without ever going to court, but the law still sets a fixed sequence of notices and windows to act in first. Below is where you likely stand in that timeline, your right to reinstate the loan, and the paths, including working with Los Angeles County cash home buyers, that other homeowners have used.

This overview of California foreclosure law is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for guidance from a licensed California attorney about your specific situation.

Where You Are in the Foreclosure Timeline

California is a nonjudicial foreclosure state for most home loans. Your deed of trust already gives the lender's trustee the power to sell the property without a lawsuit, as long as the steps in Civil Code section 2924 are followed. The clock starts when the trustee records a Notice of Default against your property. Under section 2924, at least three months has to pass before the trustee can record a Notice of Trustee's Sale. Civil Code section 2924f then requires that notice to be posted on the property, posted publicly, and published in a newspaper once a week for three weeks. The first posting and publication must come at least 20 days before the sale date. California's courts self-help guide describes most nonjudicial foreclosures as taking about four to six months start to finish.

Your Right to Reinstate the Loan Before the Sale

Before the trustee's sale happens, California law gives you a chance to stop it by bringing the loan current instead of paying it off in full. Under Civil Code section 2924c, you, or certain other parties with an interest in the property, can pay the past-due amount plus allowed costs and fees. Doing so reinstates the loan as if the default never occurred. That right is not open-ended: the statute terminates it five business days before the date set for the sale, though a postponement can revive the window against the new date. The exact payoff figure changes as fees accrue, so ask your servicer in writing for a quote as the window nears.

Can You Sell Your House Before the Trustee's Sale Date?

In many cases, yes, and doing so can put you back in control of the price and timing instead of leaving both to a courthouse-steps bid. California built a specific tool for this into the statute. Under Civil Code section 2924f(e), added by Assembly Bill 2424, a signed listing agreement received by the trustee at least five business days before the scheduled sale generally postpones that sale 45 days, once. A signed purchase agreement received the same way, at least five business days before the newly scheduled sale, can trigger a second 45-day postponement. Neither step cancels the foreclosure or is guaranteed, but it's one of the more concrete tools available if you decide to sell. If your property is in Altadena, see how to sell your Altadena house before foreclosure without waiting on the sale date.

Short Sale, Cash Sale, or Waiting It Out

If your mortgage balance is close to or more than what the house is worth, a straight sale may not pay off the loan in full, and that's where a short sale can fit. A short sale means your lender agrees in writing to accept less than the full payoff. On a one-to-four unit residential property, the lender generally cannot pursue you for the difference afterward under Code of Civil Procedure section 580e. That process takes lender approval, though, and can take time you may not have this close to a sale date. A cash sale with no financing contingency can close faster and gives you a firmer date to plan around. Letting the sale proceed is also a choice some homeowners make when there's no equity or time left to act.

What Happens to Junior Liens and Judgments When a House Forecloses?

Liens on a property generally have priority in the order they were recorded, a rule set out in Civil Code section 2897. When the senior lender, most often the first mortgage holder, forecloses and completes a trustee's sale, liens recorded after that deed of trust are generally wiped from title by the sale. That group commonly includes second mortgages, HELOCs, and judgment liens, though specifics can vary by lien. A judgment lien itself is created when a creditor records an abstract of judgment with the county recorder. It then lasts 10 years from the date of the judgment under Code of Civil Procedure section 697.310. None of this replaces a preliminary title report, which shows what's actually recorded against your property.

Deficiency Judgments After a Nonjudicial Foreclosure Sale

A deficiency judgment is when a lender sues for the difference between what was owed and what a sale recovered. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 580d, a lender that forecloses through the nonjudicial, power-of-sale process, which is how most Los Angeles County foreclosures happen, generally cannot obtain a deficiency judgment against you afterward. That protection is not absolute. California's courts self-help guide flags fraud connected to the original loan, cash-out refinance loans, and certain second liens as situations where an exception could apply. It recommends talking to a lawyer if one might describe your loan. The rule also may not extend to a guarantor or a junior lienholder's own separate note, so check your own loan documents.

When a Divorce or Other Hardship Is Part of the Picture

Foreclosure rarely shows up on its own. It's common for a missed-payment notice to land in the middle of a divorce, a job loss, a medical crisis, or the death of a family member. If a divorce is part of it, decisions about the house usually need to be worked out between both spouses or through the family court process before a sale can close cleanly. That can include who stays in the house or whether it sells at all, adding its own timeline pressure. We put together a separate page on how to sell a house during a divorce in Los Angeles County that goes into those specifics. The sooner your hardship is on the table, the more options tend to stay open.

Common Foreclosure Questions

These FAQs about California foreclosure law are general information, not legal advice; consult a licensed California attorney about your specific circumstances.