Facing Foreclosure in California?

California uses non-judicial foreclosure. No law sets one length for the whole process. The lender or trustee sets the sale date, so the total depends on its schedule and any postponements. When 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 applies to a principal-residence mortgage, the rule generally bars a servicer in an ordinary delinquency-based foreclosure from making the first notice or filing until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent. Limited exceptions apply to due-on-sale violations and joining a superior or subordinate lienholder's foreclosure. Some state notices that are only mailed to you can come during that wait. California law sets these steps, each with its own minimum: Before the notice of default: the company you pay must contact you, or try to, at least 30 days before it records the notice of default (Cal. Civ. Code § 2923.5). Notice of default to sale: at least 3 months and 20 days; the notice of sale can be recorded up to 5 days before the first 3 months end (Cal. Civ. Code § 2924). Notice of sale to sale: at least 20 days (Cal. Civ. Code § 2924f).

Often there are still ways to try, though none is guaranteed: (1) Reinstatement — paying what you're behind, plus fees, to bring the loan current, where state law or your mortgage allows it (California's rule is under "When is it too late?" above). (2) Loan modification — if 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 applies to a mortgage secured by your principal residence and no § 1024.30 exemption applies, including exemptions for small servicers, reverse-mortgage transactions, and qualified lenders, a complete application received more than 37 days before a scheduled sale generally requires evaluation for available options and a written decision; the rule does not require a particular modification. (3) Forbearance — a temporary pause on payments, if your servicer agrees. (4) Bankruptcy — filing generally creates an automatic stay that can stop a foreclosure sale while it lasts, though the stay has exceptions and can last only a short time in some cases. (5) Short sale — selling the home for less than you owe, if your lender approves.

California limits deficiency judgments: whether the lender can collect the rest depends on the loan, the kind of sale and the rules below. California has extremely strong anti-deficiency protections through multiple interlocking statutes: (1) CCP 580b prohibits deficiency judgments on purchase money loans secured by 1-4 unit owner-occupied property — this includes original purchase money loans AND refinances of purchase money loans executed on or after January 1, 2013 (SB 1069, 2012 amendment), except for any new principal that was not used to pay the purchase money loan or the refinance's fees and costs. CCP 580b also bars deficiency on seller-financed loans. (2) CCP 580d prohibits deficiency judgments on the loan after a non-judicial foreclosure (trustee sale under power of sale) regardless of whether the loan is purchase money, with narrow exceptions for certain bonds and public utility debt. CCP 580d names a sale under a power of sale; it does not mention a deed in lieu. Neither 580b nor 580d affects the liability of a guarantor or other surety. (3) CCP 726 (one-action rule) requires the lender to exhaust the real property security before pursuing a personal judgment. (4) CCP 726(b) limits any deficiency judgment after judicial foreclosure to the amount by which the debt, with interest and costs, exceeds the property's fair value on the date of sale, and never more than the debt minus the sale price. The practical result is that deficiency judgments are extremely rare in California residential foreclosure because: (a) CCP 580b protects all purchase money borrowers regardless of foreclosure type, and (b) CCP 580d protects everyone else in non-judicial foreclosure, which is how the overwhelming majority of California foreclosures are conducted.

Yes. HUD-approved housing counseling agencies give foreclosure-prevention counseling for free, and a counselor can help you talk to your servicer. HUD lists 81 approved counseling agencies in California; its referral line is 1-800-569-4287.

As California law sets it: The greater of: (1) the countywide median sale price for a single-family home in the calendar year prior to when the exemption is claimed, not to exceed the statutory cap, or (2) the statutory floor. Base amounts (AB 1885, effective January 1, 2021): floor $300,000, cap $600,000. These amounts are adjusted annually for inflation, beginning January 1, 2022, based on the California Consumer Price Index, with each adjusted amount rounded to the nearest $25. Whatever the amount, the exemption does not protect your home from mortgage foreclosure. It protects equity from other creditors.

Government-backed loans have their own rules on top of California law. FHA requires a meeting or reasonable efforts to arrange one in covered defaults. Current rules allow approved remote methods; exceptions and timing requirements apply. VA and USDA set their own help options for the loans they back; the forbearance guide and loan modification guide explain each program's options, with the rule behind each one.

Federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (12 U.S.C. 5220 note) provides 90-day notice minimum for bona fide tenants. Section 8 tenants retain lease rights per federal law. California CCP 1161b requires a 90-day written notice to quit for month-to-month and other periodic tenants, and lets a tenant with a fixed-term lease signed before the sale stay until the lease ends unless an exception applies (for example, the buyer will live in the unit as a primary residence), in which case a 90-day notice is still required; these protections do not apply if a borrower on the note stays in the property. AB 1482 (Cal. Civ. Code 1946.2, 1947.12-1947.13) provides additional just-cause eviction protections and rent cap (5% + CPI, max 10%) for qualifying tenants statewide through January 1, 2030. 90 days written notice to vacate for bona fide tenants after non-judicial foreclosure sale (federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, 12 U.S.C. 5220 note). Under California law (CCP 1161b), a tenant with a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy must be given a 90-day written notice to quit after the foreclosure sale before being removed; a former owner who stays in the home can be removed after a three-day written notice to quit (CCP 1161a). AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act of 2019) provides just-cause eviction protections statewide for tenants who have occupied the property for 12+ months. After a foreclosure sale, the purchaser must give a tenant with a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy a 90-day written notice to quit before removing the tenant (CCP 1161b); a former owner who remains can be served a three-day written notice to quit (CCP 1161a). SB 1079 (2020) expanded tenant rights by giving tenants the right to bid as eligible bidders under the 45-day post-sale process (Cal. Civ. Code 2924m). Tenants in foreclosed properties are also protected by local rent stabilization and just-cause eviction ordinances where applicable (e.g., Los Angeles RSO, San Francisco rent ordinance).

Possibly. If a foreclosure sale brings in more than is owed, the extra is called surplus. The costs of the sale, the debt being foreclosed and other liens on the home, such as a second mortgage, are generally paid first, and in some states a court decides who gets what is left. In California: After the trustee sale, if there are surplus proceeds (sale price exceeds the sale costs and the amount owed on the foreclosed loan), the trustee must: (1) send notice to all parties with recorded interests within 30 days after the trustee's deed is executed (unless an interpleader action has been filed); (2) distribute surplus to junior lienholders in order of priority; (3) distribute any remaining surplus to the former homeowner. If there are conflicting claims, the trustee may deposit the surplus with the clerk of the superior court and the court determines distribution. Under Cal. Civ. Code 2924k, the order of distribution is: (a) costs of trustee sale, (b) obligation secured by the foreclosed lien, (c) junior lienholders in order of priority, (d) the trustor (former homeowner). The trustee must send written notice to all persons with recorded interests in the property within 30 days after the trustee's deed is executed, unless an interpleader action has already been filed (Cal. Civ. Code 2924j(a)). The court, county clerk or trustee who handled the sale can tell you whether any surplus is being held.

Generally, no. HAF programs, including the California Mortgage Relief Program, can't commit new money after September 30, 2026 (Treasury). If the program approved you before then, ask it about payments still being processed.

Yes, with your lender's approval. California law limits deficiency judgments after a short sale. California's anti-deficiency protections extend to short sales in significant ways. CCP 580b bars a deficiency on purchase money loans, including after a short sale: the California Supreme Court held in Coker v. JPMorgan Chase Bank (2016) that CCP 580b applies to short sales just as it does to foreclosure sales. For any loan secured by a dwelling of up to four units, CCP 580e (enacted 2011) bars a deficiency after a short sale if the lender consented to the sale in writing, title was transferred by a recorded deed, and the sale proceeds were paid to the lender as agreed. The lender cannot require any payment beyond the sale proceeds in exchange for its consent. CCP 580e does not apply if the borrower is a corporation, LLC, limited partnership, or public entity, and it does not limit the lender's remedies for fraud or waste.