For the prior video in this series covering the recording of a notice of default (NOD), click here.

Noticing the date set for the sale

A trustee or mortgage holder may begin noticing the date set for the sale of a property on the day following three months after the NOD is recorded. [Calif. Civil Code §2924(a)(3)]

After noticing the date set for the sale, at least 20 calendar days need to pass before the date of the sale. The trustee may sell the property no sooner than the twenty-first day after advertising begins and the posting of notice occurs. [CC §2924f(b)]

Thus, the owner or junior lienholder has approximately 103 to 105 days after recording the NOD to cure the default and reinstate the mortgage debt. Doing so avoids a full payoff or foreclosure of the property.

At least 20 calendar days before the trustee’s sale, the trustee sends two copies of the NOTS to each party who previously received the NOD. [CC §2924b(c)(3)]

As with the NOD, one copy of the NOTS is sent by registered or certified mail, while the other is sent by first-class mail. [CC §2924b(b)(2), (e)]

The date of the sale may be set for any business day, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. [CC §2924g(a)]

In general practice, a date down of the trustee’s sale guarantee issued to the trustee is ordered out from the title company the day before or on the day the title company records the NOTS.

The date down notifies the trustee of any interests recorded on the title to the property after the NOD is recorded. However, the trustee is not required to give notice of the impending trustee’s sale to any person who recorded an interest in the property after the NOD was recorded. [CC §2924b(c)(1)]

The trustee prepares an NOTS which contains:

  • the trustee’s name or their agent’s name, street address and telephone number (or toll-free number if located out of state);
  • the street address or common designation of the mortgaged property;
  • the county assessor’s parcel number of the mortgaged property;
  • the dollar amount of the debt in default, including reasonably estimated advances for hazard insurance premiums, property taxes due and foreclosure costs; and
  • a statutory statement informing the owner they are in default. [CC §2924f; see RPI Form 474]

If the billing address of the defaulting owner is different from the mortgaged property’s address, an additional notice needs to be posted on the property concurrent with the NOTS. The notice states in English and five other mandated languages that any tenant has the right to a 90-day notice to vacate the property. A copy of the tenant’s rights is also to be mailed at the time of posting to the “Resident of property subject to foreclosure sale.” [CC §2924.8(a); see RPI Form 474-1]

Like the NOD, the NOTS needs to contain a summary of key information in the language the mortgage was originally negotiated in. [CC §2923.3; see RPI Form 474-2]

If the mortgage was negotiated in Spanish, the mortgage may contain a request for a Spanish-language NOD. The trustee is then obligated to serve the owner an NOD in Spanish. [CC §2924c(b)(1)]

Delivering the NOTS

To ensure the sale at a public auction is properly advertised, the notice requirements for the NOTS are more comprehensive than the notice requirements for the NOD.

In addition to mailing the notice to all interested parties of record, the trustee performs all of the following at least 20 calendar days prior to the sale:

  • post a copy of the NOTS in one public place in the city of the sale, or if the sale is not to be held in a city, the judicial district in which the property is to be sold;
  • post a copy of the NOTS in a conspicuous place on the property to be sold; and
  • start publishing a copy of the NOTS once a week for three consecutive calendar weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in  the city where the property is located. [CC §2924f(b)(1)]

The location of the sale

A trustee’s sale is held in the county where the mortgaged real estate is located. [CC §2924g(a)]

If the property or properties being foreclosed are located in two or more counties, the trustee’s sale may take place in any one of the counties.

For example, consider a trustee who is to conduct a foreclosure sale of two properties which secure the same debt by the same mortgage and are located in different counties. The trustee can sell both properties at one sale, in either county the trustee chooses.

A trustee’s sale may be postponed by the trustee at any time prior to the completion of the foreclosure sale. The trustee’s sale may be postponed on the instruction of the mortgage holder or by the trustee at their discretion. [CC §2924g(c)(1)]