California Foreclosure Help – Stop Foreclosure in California

 


Finding Foreclosure Help in California

Foreclosure prevention counseling services are provided free of charge by nonprofit housing counseling agencies working in partnership with the Federal Government. These agencies are funded, in part, by HUD and NeighborWorks® America. There is no need to pay a private company for these services.

Fresno Field Office

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Fresno Field Office
855 M Street, Suite 970
Fresno, CA 93721

Phone: (559) 487-5033

Email: CA_Webmanager@hud.gov
Fax: (559) 487-5498

Jurisdiction: Stanislaus, Madera, Merced, Mariposa, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern Counties in California’s Central Valley

Rollie Smith

Field Office Director
email: Rollie.Smith@hud.gov

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday

Los Angeles Field Office

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
AT&T Building
611 West Sixth Street,
Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Phone: (213) 894-8000
Email: CA_Webmanager@hud.gov
Fax: (213) 894-8096
TTY: (213) 894-8133

Jurisdiction: Primarily Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Mono and Inyo Counties

Ray Brewer
Field Office Director

email: Pennie.Acevedo@hud.gov

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday through Friday

Sacramento Field Office

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

John E. Moss Federal Building

Suite 4-200
650 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814-3702

Phone: (916) 498-5220
Fax: (916) 498-5262

Email: CA_Webmanager@hud.gov
TTY: (916) 498-5959

Jurisdiction: Northern 23 California Counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba Counties

Cynthia L. Abbott
Field Office Director
email: Cynthia.L.Abbott@hud.gov

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monday through Friday

San Diego Field Office

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Symphony Towers
750 ‘B’ Street, Suite 1600

San Diego, CA 92101-8131

Phone: (619) 557-5305

Email: CA_Webmanager@hud.gov
Fax: (619)557-6296

Jurisdiction: San Diego and Imperial Counties

Frank Riley

Field Office Director
email: Francis.X.Riley@hud.gov

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday

San Francisco Regional Office

Dept. of Housing a nd Urban Development
600 Harrison Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94107-1300

Phone: (415) 489-6400
Email: CA_Webmanager@hud.gov

Fax: (415) 489-6419

Jurisdiction: San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Solano, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, Del Norte, Humbolt, Mendocino and Lake Counties

Ophelia Basgal
Regional Director
email: jennie.c.remigio@hud.gov

Office Hours: 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Monday through Friday

Santa Ana Field Office

Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Santa Ana Federal Building

34 Civic Center Plaza

Room 7015
Santa Ana, CA 92701-4003

Phone: (714) 796-5577
Email: CA_Webmanager@hud.gov
Fax: (714) 796-1285

TTY: (714) 796-5517

Jurisdiction: Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties

Ray Brewer
Acting Field Office Director
email: loreta.p.monzon@hud.gov

California Foreclosure Laws Summary

Quick Facts:

  • Judicial foreclosure process is available.
  • Non-judicial foreclosure process is available.
  • The primary security instruments are deeds of trust and mortgages.
  • The timeline can vary by process, which typically takes 120 days.
  • The borrower’s right of redemption period varies by process.
  • The lender may sue for deficiency judgements but vary by process.

Lenders in California may foreclose on mortgages in default through a judicial or non-judicial process.

Judicial Foreclosure
The judicial foreclosure process is used when there is no power of sale clause in a mortgage deal. The lender must file a lawsuit to obtain a court order. Once this is approved, the property can then be sold at an auction to the highest bidder. Deficiency suits may be filed and the borrower can redeem the property until 1 year from the date of sale.

Non-Judicial Foreclosure
The non-judicial process is used when there is a power of sale clause included in a mortgage deal. This means that the borrower has pre-authorized the sale of the property to pay off his debts in the event of a default. The lender or a trustee can then sell the property at an auction.

Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines
If the terms of sale are specified in the power of sale clause, these must be followed. If not, the non-judicial foreclosure process is carried out as follows:

At least 20 days before the date of the foreclosure sale, a notice of sale must be sent to the borrower and posted on the property. The notice of sale must also be recorded in the county where the property is located 14 days before the sale. Another notice must also be put up in a public place in the county so that people may be notified about the upcoming sale. This notice must contain the important information that people should know about the sale. For the borrower to stop the sale, he must pay all of his remaining debts within 5 days from receiving the notice.

The sale must take place anytime between 9am-5pm in the specified place on the notice. The lender may ask for proof that the winning bidder will be able to pay for the price that he bid for the property. The sale may be postponed by stating the new details of the sale during the originally scheduled time. Deficiency suits may not be filed and borrowers have no rights of redemption.

Foreclosure Assistance in Your City