You probably have more time than you were told.

Start here, not with us

If you are behind on payments, the first call worth making is to a HUD-certified housing counselor. It is free, they do not earn anything from what you decide, and they will walk through options a buyer never will — reinstatement, repayment plans, loan modification, forbearance. Find one through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or by calling the HOPE Hotline at 888-995-HOPE.

We are telling you this on our own website, before we tell you anything about what we do, because people in default get circled by companies who benefit from you moving fast. Anyone who asks for money up front to stop your foreclosure, who wants you to sign the deed over to them while you keep living there, or who tells you to stop talking to your lender, is running something. Walk away and report them.

Where you are on the clock

California foreclosures are usually nonjudicial, meaning they happen through the trustee rather than through a courtroom. The sequence is fixed, and knowing which step you are on tells you how much room you have.

• You fall behind. Before recording anything, the servicer generally has to contact you to discuss options, and then wait 30 days.
• Notice of default recorded. The clock starts here. Three months must pass before a notice of sale can be recorded.
• Notice of sale recorded. The auction date is set, and the notice has to be given at least 20 days before it.
• Trustee sale. Earliest realistic date is roughly four months from the notice of default, and in practice it commonly runs longer.

Two rights sit inside that window and both of them expire quietly:

Reinstatement. Up until five business days before the sale date, you can generally bring the loan current by paying the arrears plus fees, and the foreclosure stops. After that point you are looking at paying the loan off in full instead.

Postponement through a sale. Under AB 2424, effective January 1, 2025, delivering a listing agreement to the trustee can postpone a scheduled auction, and an executed purchase agreement can extend it further. It generally has to reach the trustee at least five business days before the sale date. This is newer law and most people have never heard of it.

Confirm your own dates with an attorney or a HUD counselor. General timelines are a guide, not your case.

Your options, roughly in the order worth considering them

Reinstate the loan. If the money exists — savings, family, a hardship program — this ends the problem and you keep the house. Always worth pricing first.

Loan modification or a repayment plan. Your servicer may restructure what you owe. A HUD counselor can help you apply for free, which is worth repeating, because companies charge thousands for the same paperwork.

List it on the open market. If you have equity and enough runway, this nets the most money, full stop. It is also the option that can buy you time under AB 2424. If the house shows reasonably well and you have more than a few weeks, this is usually the right answer and we will say so.

Sell it as-is for cash. Fewer dollars than the open market, but certain and fast, with no repairs, no showings and no chance of a buyer's loan falling apart two days before the sale date. This is the right answer when the clock is short, the house needs real work, or you simply need it finished.

Short sale. If you owe more than it is worth, the lender has to approve a sale for less than the balance. Slower and less certain, but it beats an auction.

Let it go to auction. Occasionally the honest answer, usually not. If there is equity in the house, you have real money at stake and you should not let the date arrive by default.

What we do

Two things, and we will tell you which one fits before you commit to either.

We buy it directly, as-is. No commission, no repairs, no cleanout, no showings, and a close date we can hold to. We are a licensed general contractor, so the repair number in our offer is a bid rather than a guess used to justify a lower price.

Or we list it. We are a licensed brokerage. If you have time and equity, the open market almost always nets you more, and listing is also what can postpone the auction. When that is the better outcome for you, that is what we will recommend, even though we make less.

When we buy from you directly, we are the buyer, not your agent. We say that in writing, and you should have your own agent or an attorney review anything we put in front of you. We would rather you did.

Common questions

Can I sell my house after a notice of default has been recorded?

Yes. You own the house until the trustee sale happens, and you can sell it right up to that date. If there is equity, selling usually beats letting it go to auction, because at a sale you keep whatever is left after the loan, the fees and the costs are paid. At auction that surplus is far less likely to reach you intact.

How long do I actually have?

In a typical California nonjudicial foreclosure, three months must pass after the notice of default is recorded before a notice of sale can be recorded, and the notice of sale must be given at least 20 days before the auction date. That puts the earliest auction around four months out, and in practice it is often longer. Confirm your specific dates with an attorney or a HUD-certified counselor rather than relying on a general timeline.

Can listing the house delay the auction?

It can. Under AB 2424, which took effect on January 1, 2025 and amended Civil Code section 2924f, delivering a listing agreement to the trustee can postpone a scheduled sale, and an executed purchase agreement can extend it further. The submission generally has to reach the trustee at least five business days before the sale date. The exact postponement length and conditions turn on details, so have an attorney or your HUD counselor confirm them for your case — but the five-business-day deadline is the part to act on early.

What if I owe more than the house is worth?

Then you are looking at a short sale, which needs the lender's approval, or at other options entirely. We can tell you quickly whether you are actually underwater, because in most of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties people assume they are and turn out not to be.

Do I have to pay you anything?

No. If we buy the house directly, there is no commission and no fee — you are selling to us, not hiring us. If we list it for you instead, the commission comes out of the sale proceeds at closing, not out of your pocket beforehand. Be very careful with anyone who asks you for money up front to help with a foreclosure.

Will selling stop the foreclosure?

Closing a sale pays off the loan, which ends the foreclosure. But nothing is stopped until the payoff actually happens, so the sale has to close before the sale date or the trustee has to postpone. That is why timing matters more than price in the last few weeks.

What is the five-day right to cancel?

When someone buys a home in foreclosure from an owner who lives there, California's Home Equity Sales Contract Act gives the seller five business days to cancel the contract, and the buyer cannot take title, record anything or pay you before that window closes. It is your protection, it applies to us, and any buyer who leaves it out of the paperwork is telling you something.

Important. This page is general information about California foreclosure procedure, not legal, tax or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for talking to a lawyer or a HUD-certified housing counselor about your own situation. Timelines and rights depend on your loan, your documents and your dates. We are not a foreclosure consultant and we do not charge fees to stop a foreclosure or to negotiate with your lender. Nothing here is a promise that any particular outcome can be achieved.