A Timeline of the Foreclosure Process, From First Missed Payment to Foreclosure Sale

A foreclosure sale will typically not occur until 6 to 8 months after your last payment.  In California, although the Notice of Default and Notice of Sale can occur in as little as 112 days, the average time between the notice of default on a mortgage loan and foreclosure is 176 days.  This is because most lenders do not even begin the foreclosure process until you are at least 2-3 months past due.

The foreclosure process is initiated by the recording of a formal Notice of Default (NOD).  If a NOD is recorded, the homeowner must be given notice.  The NOD is recorded on the title of the property with the County Recorder. 

The lender must then wait 90 days after the recording of the NOD.  During this 90-day grace period, the homeowner has the right to make up back payments and reinstate the loan.  Reinstatement restores the loan to its original status and is different from redemption in that it does not require the entire loan to be paid off. 
           
            After the 90-day grace period, the lender can then record and publish a Notice of Sale.  The foreclosure sale must be at least 21 days from the date the Notice of Sale is first published.  The homeowner has another opportunity to reinstate the loan 5 days prior to the foreclosure sale date.
 
Special Note on the Recent 90-day Foreclosure Moratorium in California:
           
            Recently, the state of California passed a law requiring a 90-day foreclosure moratorium which went into effect on June 15, 2009, and is expected to make lenders try harder to keep homeowners in their homes.  The moratorium applies to first mortgages on owner-occupied homes, on loans recorded between January 1, 2003 and January 1, 2008.  Under the new law, lenders must wait an additional 90 days after recording the Notice of Default before recording a Notice of Sale.  However, there are many exemptions to this law.  Lenders can apply for an exemption by demonstrating that it has implemented a loan modification program that meets specific requirements, such as lowering owner payments to a target 38% of their income going into home payments. 

            The foreclosure moratorium does not apply to all homeowners.  If you are currently behind on mortgage payments or have questions regarding the best legal options to prevent foreclosure, please contact at LL&K, Attorneys at Law at info@llkattorneys.com