In California, the process of a foreclosure is pretty straightforward. It’s typically a non-judicial procedure that usually takes approximately four months from the filing of the Notice of Default unless a lender is willing to negotiate and extend the deadlines.

The typical timeline:

1. Payment Delinquency – 2 monthsCurrent owner must be at least 2 months down on the mortgage payments (1st or 2nd) before the lender can record a Notice of Default (NOD). It is not always 2 months from the time the loan became delinquent however the lender may begin the foreclosure process by directing the Trustee to record the NOD at any time from this point forward.
2. Notice of Default (NOD) – 3 monthsAfter several months of missed payments, the beneficiary (lender) will notify the borrowers that they are in default and direct the trustee (the entity that conducts the foreclosure process) to start foreclosure proceedings. A NOD is recorded in the office of the county recorder in which the property is located.
3. Recording of Notice of Trustee’s Sale – 20 daysIf 3 months have passed and the homeowner can not work with the lender to reinstate the loan (ie; paying back payments, fees and penalties) the trustee schedules the trustee’s sale and records a Notice of Trustee’s Sale. A Notice of Trustee Sale is posted on the property, published in a publication of general circulation and mailed to the borrower.In total, the minimum period of time from initial default until the property has been foreclosed upon and title transferred to lender or bidder at auction is five months and 20 days.