How does foreclosure work in California?

Judicial or non-judicial

Non-judicial (the usual case). “Nonjudicial foreclosures are the most common type of foreclosures in California,” says the California Courts Self-Help Guide, because most mortgages carry a power of sale. A trustee sells the home at public auction without a lawsuit. The Courts guide says these “usually” take “about 4-6 months.”

Judicial. The lender sues under Code of Civil Procedure § 726, which the Courts guide says “can take many months, even years.” In court, the lender can ask for a deficiency judgment for the debt still owed (Courts guide), which a trustee’s sale rules out (see below).

Timeline step by step

1. Missed payments. Under federal rules, “your servicer can’t start the foreclosure process until at least 120 days after you become delinquent,” except in rare cases (CFPB).
2. Contact before the notice of default. For an owner-occupied home, the servicer must contact you by phone or in person to “explore options,” then wait 30 days (or 30 days after diligent attempts) before recording a notice of default (§ 2923.5).
3. Notice of default and three-month wait. “Not less than three months shall elapse from the filing of the notice of default” (§ 2924(a)(2)). The notice of sale may be recorded up to 5 days early, but the sale cannot fall earlier than three months and 20 days after the notice of default (§ 2924(a)(4)).
4. Notice of sale. Posted in a public place and on the property, recorded, and published once a week for three consecutive weeks, all at least 20 days before the sale (§ 2924f(b)).
5. Reinstatement. You can cure by paying the past-due amounts plus permitted costs until five business days before the sale date (§ 2924c(e)).
6. The sale. For a first deed of trust on 1 to 4 units, the trustee may not sell at the first sale for less than 67% of a fair market value the lender provides; if nobody bids that much, the sale is postponed at least seven days (§ 2924f(f)).
7. After the sale. On 1 to 4 units, the sale is not final for 15 days if an eligible tenant or bidder sends a notice of intent, and such bidders have up to 45 days to submit a bid (§ 2924m, in effect until January 1, 2031).
8. Leaving the home. The buyer must serve a 3-day notice to quit and, if you stay, go through a court eviction (Courts Self-Help Guide).

How long does it take?

Worked example. You miss the January 1 payment. The 30-day contact can run during the federal 120 days, so a notice of default could be recorded around May 1 and the earliest sale held around August 20: about seven and a half months. Each postponement adds time.

Right of redemption

After a trustee’s sale, there is no right to buy the home back under the code sections above; the last chance is reinstatement. After a judicial sale that allows a deficiency, you may redeem within three months if the sale price covered the debt, interest and costs, or one year if it did not (CCP §§ 729.010, 729.030). If a sale brings more than you owed, you are “entitled to the surplus funds” (Courts Self-Help Guide).

Deficiency judgments

• After a trustee’s sale: none. “No deficiency shall be owed or collected” on a note secured by a deed of trust when the home “has been sold by the mortgagee or trustee under power of sale” (CCP § 580d).
• Purchase loans on your home: none, even in court. No deficiency is owed on a loan used to buy a dwelling of up to four units that the buyer occupies (CCP § 580b(a)(3)). Refinances signed since January 1, 2013, keep that protection except for any new money borrowed (§ 580b(b)).
• Other judicial foreclosures. The lender must apply within three months of the sale; the judgment is capped at the debt minus the home’s fair value (CCP § 726(b)).

Help for homeowners in default

The Homeowner Bill of Rights sections apply to a first mortgage on an owner-occupied home of up to four units (§ 2924.15):

• No dual tracking. If you submit a complete first-lien modification application at least five business days before a sale, the servicer may not record a notice or hold the sale while it is pending. You get 30 days to appeal a denial (§ 2923.6).
• Single point of contact at the servicer (§ 2923.7).
• Court remedies. Before the trustee’s deed is recorded, you can ask a court to stop the sale for a material violation; after, you can sue for actual economic damages (§ 2924.12).

Other help:

• HUD-approved housing counselors: free or low-cost, at (800) 569-4287, or the Homeowners Hope Hotline at (888) 995-HOPE (HUD).
• Apply early: the CFPB says to make sure the servicer has your complete application “more than 37 days before your scheduled foreclosure sale.”
• Disaster victims: CalHFA’s CalAssist Mortgage Fund pays up to one year of mortgage payments for homes “destroyed or severely damaged as the result of a California disaster”; applications close November 2, 2026.
• Rescue scams: HUD warns a firm promising a quick fix may have you “signing over the title to your property.”

Related: California property tax, tenant rights in California and when to hire a California real estate attorney.