What Are the Notice Requirements for Foreclosure in California?

Full question:

On 7/21/09 I got title to a rental I foreclosed on. On Aug 4, a renter got a notice saying the property was being foreclosed on. I found out the first note holder, Countrywide, was foreclosing, sale date 8/25. 1. If they foreclose, does it go on my record? 2. Wasn't I supposed to be notified when the foreclosure on the first note began? Neither Countrywide nor BofA will answer these questions.

  • Category: Real Property
  • Subcategory: Foreclosure
  • Date:
  • State: California

Answer:

The answer will depend in part on whether you were the borrower or owner on public record at the recorder's office at the time the notice of default was filed by the lender. It will also depend on whether you assumed liability for payment of the loan. Generally, the lender must file a notice of default and send notice of such to the borrower, the successor in interest, or buyer of the property if he/she can be identified in the public records as of the date of filing the notice of default. Typically, the default in payment will appear in the credit history of the borrower, or another party who assumes the debt through assignment, etc.

Please see the following selected portions of CA statutes to determine appliability:

2924b
...(c) The mortgagee, trustee, or other person authorized to record
the notice of default or the notice of sale shall do the following:
(1) Within one month following recordation of the notice of
default, deposit or cause to be deposited in the United States mail
an envelope, sent by registered or certified mail with postage
prepaid, containing a copy of the notice with the recording date
shown thereon, addressed to each person set forth in paragraph (2),
provided that the estate or interest of any person entitled to
receive notice under this subdivision is acquired by an instrument
sufficient to impart constructive notice of the estate or interest in
the land or portion thereof that is subject to the deed of trust or
mortgage being foreclosed, and provided the instrument is recorded in
the office of the county recorder so as to impart that constructive
notice prior to the recording date of the notice of default and
provided the instrument as so recorded sets forth a mailing address
that the county recorder shall use, as instructed within the
instrument, for the return of the instrument after recording, and
which address shall be the address used for the purposes of mailing
notices herein.
(2) The persons to whom notice shall be mailed under this
subdivision are:
(A) The successor in interest, as of the recording date of the
notice of default, of the estate or interest or any portion thereof
of the trustor or mortgagor of the deed of trust or mortgage being
foreclosed.
(B) The beneficiary or mortgagee of any deed of trust or mortgage
recorded subsequent to the deed of trust or mortgage being
foreclosed, or recorded prior to or concurrently with the deed of
trust or mortgage being foreclosed but subject to a recorded
agreement or a recorded statement of subordination to the deed of
trust or mortgage being foreclosed.
(C) The assignee of any interest of the beneficiary or mortgagee
described in subparagraph (B), as of the recording date of the notice
of default.
(D) The vendee of any contract of sale, or the lessee of any
lease, of the estate or interest being foreclosed that is recorded
subsequent to the deed of trust or mortgage being foreclosed, or
recorded prior to or concurrently with the deed of trust or mortgage
being foreclosed but subject to a recorded agreement or statement of
subordination to the deed of trust or mortgage being foreclosed.
(E) The successor in interest to the vendee or lessee described in
subparagraph (D), as of the recording date of the notice of default.

... (5) The mailing of notices in the manner set forth in paragraph
(1) shall not impose upon any licensed attorney, agent, or employee
of any person entitled to receive notices as herein set forth any
duty to communicate the notice to the entitled person from the fact
that the mailing address used by the county recorder is the address
of the attorney, agent, or employee.
(d) Any deed of trust or mortgage with power of sale hereafter
executed upon real property or an estate for years therein may
contain a request that a copy of any notice of default and a copy of
any notice of sale thereunder shall be mailed to any person or party
thereto at the address of the person given therein, and a copy of any
notice of default and of any notice of sale shall be mailed to each
of these at the same time and in the same manner required as though a
separate request therefor had been filed by each of these persons as
herein authorized. If any deed of trust or mortgage with power of
sale executed after September 19, 1939, except a deed of trust or
mortgage of any of the classes excepted from the provisions of
Section 2924, does not contain a mailing address of the trustor or
mortgagor therein named, and if no request for special notice by the
trustor or mortgagor in substantially the form set forth in this
section has subsequently been recorded, a copy of the notice of
default shall be published once a week for at least four weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the property
is situated, the publication to commence within 10 business days
after the filing of the notice of default. In lieu of publication, a
copy of the notice of default may be delivered personally to the
trustor or mortgagor within the 10 business days or at any time
before publication is completed, or by posting the notice of default
in a conspicuous place on the property and mailing the notice to the
last known address of the trustor or mortgagor.
(e) Any person required to mail a copy of a notice of default or
notice of sale to each trustor or mortgagor pursuant to subdivision
(b) or (c) by registered or certified mail shall simultaneously cause
to be deposited in the United States mail, with postage prepaid and
mailed by first-class mail, an envelope containing an additional copy
of the required notice addressed to each trustor or mortgagor at the
same address to which the notice is sent by registered or certified
mail pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c). The person shall execute and
retain an affidavit identifying the notice mailed, showing the name
and residence or business address of that person, that he or she is
over the age of 18 years, the date of deposit in the mail, the name
and address of the trustor or mortgagor to whom sent, and that the
envelope was sealed and deposited in the mail with postage fully
prepaid. In the absence of fraud, the affidavit required by this
subdivision shall establish a conclusive presumption of mailing.
(f) With respect to separate interests governed by an association,
as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1351, the association may
cause to be filed in the office of the recorder in the county in
which the separate interests are situated a request that a mortgagee,
trustee, or other person authorized to record a notice of default
regarding any of those separate interests mail to the association a
copy of any trustee's deed upon sale concerning a separate interest.
The request shall include a legal description or the assessor's
parcel number of the separate interests. A request recorded pursuant
to this subdivision shall include the name and address of the
association and a statement that it is a homeowners' association.
Subsequent requests of an association shall supersede prior requests.
A request pursuant to this subdivision shall be recorded before the
filing of a notice of default. The mortgagee, trustee, or other
authorized person shall mail the requested information to the
association within 15 business days following the date the trustee's
deed is recorded. Failure to mail the request, pursuant to this
subdivision, shall not affect the title to real property.
(g) No request for a copy of any notice filed for record pursuant
to this section, no statement or allegation in the request, and no
record thereof shall affect the title to real property or be deemed
notice to any person that any person requesting copies of notice has
or claims any right, title, or interest in, or lien or charge upon
the property described in the deed of trust or mortgage referred to
therein.
(h) "Business day," as used in this section, has the meaning
specified in Section 9.

2924.8
(a)Upon posting a notice of sale pursuant to Section
2924f, a trustee or authorized agent shall also post the following
notice, in the manner required for posting the notice of sale on the
property to be sold, and a mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or
authorized agent shall mail, at the same time in an envelope
addressed to the "Resident of property subject to foreclosure sale"
the following notice in English and the languages described in
Section 1632: "Foreclosure process has begun on this property, which
may affect your right to continue to live in this property. Twenty
days or more after the date of this notice, this property may be sold
at foreclosure. If you are renting this property, the new property
owner may either give you a new lease or rental agreement or provide
you with a 60-day eviction notice. However, other laws may prohibit
an eviction in this circumstance or provide you with a longer notice
before eviction. You may wish to contact a lawyer or your local legal
aid or housing counseling agency to discuss any rights you may have."
...

The following are CA statutes:

2924.3. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), a
person who has undertaken as an agent of a mortgagee, beneficiary, or
owner of a promissory note secured directly or collaterally by a
mortgage or deed of trust on real property or an estate for years
therein, to make collections of payments from an obligor under the
note, shall mail the following notices, postage prepaid, to each
mortgagee, beneficiary or owner for whom the agent has agreed to make
collections from the obligor under the note:
(1) A copy of the notice of default filed in the office of the
county recorder pursuant to Section 2924 on account of a breach of
obligation under the promissory note on which the agent has agreed to
make collections of payments, within 15 days after recordation.
(2) Notice that a notice of default has been recorded pursuant to
Section 2924 on account of a breach of an obligation secured by a
mortgage or deed of trust against the same property or estate for
years therein having priority over the mortgage or deed of trust
securing the obligation described in paragraph (1), within 15 days
after recordation or within three business days after the agent
receives the information, whichever is later.
(3) Notice of the time and place scheduled for the sale of the
real property or estate for years therein pursuant to Section 2924f
under a power of sale in a mortgage or deed of trust securing an
obligation described in paragraphs (1) or (2), not less than 15 days
before the scheduled date of the sale or not later than the next
business day after the agent receives the information, whichever is
later.
(b) An agent who has undertaken to make collections on behalf of
mortgagees, beneficiaries or owners of promissory notes secured by
mortgages or deeds of trust on real property or an estate for years
therein shall not be required to comply with the provisions of
subdivision (a) with respect to a mortgagee, beneficiary or owner who
is entitled to receive notice pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
2924b or for whom a request for notice has been recorded pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 2924b if the agent reasonably believes
that the address of the mortgagee, beneficiary, or owner described in
Section 2924b is the current business or residence address of that
person.
(c) An agent who has undertaken to make collections on behalf of
mortgagees, beneficiaries or owners of promissory notes secured by
mortgages or deeds of trust on real property or an estate for years
therein shall not be required to comply with the provisions of
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) if the agent knows or
reasonably believes that the default has already been cured by or on
behalf of the obligor.
(d) Any failure to comply with the provisions of this section
shall not affect the validity of a sale in favor of a bona fide
purchaser or the rights of an encumbrancer for value and without
notice.

2924. (a) Every transfer of an interest in property, other than in
trust, made only as a security for the performance of another act, is
to be deemed a mortgage, except when in the case of personal
property it is accompanied by actual change of possession, in which
case it is to be deemed a pledge. Where, by a mortgage created after
July 27, 1917, of any estate in real property, other than an estate
at will or for years, less than two, or in any transfer in trust made
after July 27, 1917, of a like estate to secure the performance of
an obligation, a power of sale is conferred upon the mortgagee,
trustee, or any other person, to be exercised after a breach of the
obligation for which that mortgage or transfer is a security, the
power shall not be exercised except where the mortgage or transfer is
made pursuant to an order, judgment, or decree of a court of record,
or to secure the payment of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness
authorized or permitted to be issued by the Commissioner of
Corporations, or is made by a public utility subject to the
provisions of the Public Utilities Act, until all of the following
apply:
(1) The trustee, mortgagee, or beneficiary, or any of their
authorized agents shall first file for record, in the office of the
recorder of each county wherein the mortgaged or trust property or
some part or parcel thereof is situated, a notice of default. That
notice of default shall include all of the following:
(A) A statement identifying the mortgage or deed of trust by
stating the name or names of the trustor or trustors and giving the
book and page, or instrument number, if applicable, where the
mortgage or deed of trust is recorded or a description of the
mortgaged or trust property.
(B) A statement that a breach of the obligation for which the
mortgage or transfer in trust is security has occurred.
(C) A statement setting forth the nature of each breach actually
known to the beneficiary and of his or her election to sell or cause
to be sold the property to satisfy that obligation and any other
obligation secured by the deed of trust or mortgage that is in
default.
(D) If the default is curable pursuant to Section 2924c, the
statement specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
2924c.
(2) Not less than three months shall elapse from the filing of the
notice of default.
(3) Except as provided in Section 2923.52, after the lapse of the
three months described in paragraph (2), the mortgagee, trustee or
other person authorized to take the sale shall give notice of sale,
stating the time and place thereof, in the manner and for a time not
less than that set forth in Section 2924f.
(b) In performing acts required by this article, the trustee shall
incur no liability for any good faith error resulting from reliance
on information provided in good faith by the beneficiary regarding
the nature and the amount of the default under the secured
obligation, deed of trust, or mortgage. In performing the acts
required by this article, a trustee shall not be subject to Title
1.6c (commencing with Section 1788) of Part 4.
(c) A recital in the deed executed pursuant to the power of sale
of compliance with all requirements of law regarding the mailing of
copies of notices or the publication of a copy of the notice of
default or the personal delivery of the copy of the notice of default
or the posting of copies of the notice of sale or the publication of
a copy thereof shall constitute prima facie evidence of compliance
with these requirements and conclusive evidence thereof in favor of
bona fide purchasers and encumbrancers for value and without notice.

(d) All of the following shall constitute privileged
communications pursuant to Section 47:
(1) The mailing, publication, and delivery of notices as required
by this section.
(2) Performance of the procedures set forth in this article.
(3) Performance of the functions and procedures set forth in this
article if those functions and procedures are necessary to carry out
the duties described in Sections 729.040, 729.050, and 729.080 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) There is a rebuttable presumption that the beneficiary
actually knew of all unpaid loan payments on the obligation owed to
the beneficiary and secured by the deed of trust or mortgage subject
to the notice of default. However, the failure to include an actually
known default shall not invalidate the notice of sale and the
beneficiary shall not be precluded from asserting a claim to this
omitted default or defaults in a separate notice of default.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.

 


2923.52. (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 2924, a mortgagee, trustee, or other person authorized to
take sale shall not give notice of sale until at least 90 days after
the lapse of three months as set forth in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 2924, in order to allow the parties to
pursue a loan modification to prevent foreclosure, if all of the
following conditions exist:
(1) The loan was recorded during the period of January 1, 2003, to
January 1, 2008, inclusive, and is secured by residential real
property.
(2) The loan at issue is the first mortgage or deed of trust that
the property secures.
(3) The borrower occupied the property as the borrower's principal
residence at the time the loan became delinquent.
(4) The notice of default has been recorded on the property.
(b) This section does not apply to loans serviced by a mortgage
loan servicer if that mortgage loan servicer has obtained a temporary
or final order of exemption pursuant to Section 2923.53 that is
current and valid at the time the notice of sale is given.
(c) This section does not apply to loans made, purchased, or
serviced by:
(1) A California state or local public housing agency or
authority, including state or local housing finance agencies
established under Division 31 (commencing with Section 50000) of the
Health and Safety Code and Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 980) of
Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(2) Loans that are collateral for securities purchased by an
agency or authority described in paragraph (1).
(d) This section shall become operative 14 days after the issuance
of regulations, which shall include the form of the application for
mortgage loan servicers, by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision
(d) of Section 2923.53.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.

 

This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.

FAQs

A foreclosure can impact your ability to rent a property, as landlords may check your credit history. If the foreclosure appears on your record, it could be viewed negatively. However, policies vary by landlord, and some may be willing to rent to you despite a foreclosure. It's a good idea to be upfront about your situation and provide references or proof of income to strengthen your application.