What is a Foreclosure?
It’s no secret that the U.S. housing market is in deep trouble, largely due to the sheer volume of homes which are going into foreclosure. In the majority of these foreclosures, the home owners failed to make their mortgage payments as agreed upon with their lenders. The foreclosure process will vary from state to state, depending upon whether the state where your home is located uses mortgages or deeds of trust for the purchase of the real property. States that use mortgages tend to lean toward the use of Judicial Foreclosures, where the court system is employed to execute the foreclosure proceedings. States that use deeds of trust conduct Non – Judicial Foreclosures, where out of court procedures defined by state law are conducted. Many states use both methods of foreclosure. However, the most popular foreclosure conducted is the Non – Judicial Method. We at Home Relief Now have put together an easy to read reference guide on the CD that is included in your package so as to easily locate the state your home is in and navigate to find which foreclosure proceeding is conducted in your state, as well as a brief summary of the timeline involved.

The Foreclosure Process In California almost all foreclosures are of the non-judicial type, in that the property is secured by a deed of trust, which is the document that secures the interest in the real property by three parties.

If you have never read a deed of trust, most home owners have not, it is the security instrument for your loan. It is the document that is recorded in the public records and contains the following:

	The Trustor, which is you, the borrower
	The Trustee, which is an entity that holds "bare or legal" title
	The Beneficiary, which is the lender

The deed of trust is an instrument that identifies the following:

	Original loan amount		Late fees
	Legal description of the property being used as security for the mortgage		Legal procedures
	The parties		Acceleration and alienation clauses
	Inception and maturity date of the loan		Riders, if any, regarding such clauses as prepayment penalties
	Provisions of the mortgage and requirements		or terms of an adjustable rate mortgage.

A non-judicial foreclosure is the procedure whereby your lender has your property sold to recover money you owe after you have defaulted on your loan. In other words you have stopped sending payments to your lender.

The Notice of Trustee’s Sale:
A Notice of Trustee’s Sale is issued after the Notice of Default has been issued on the property, which announces the date, time and location of the foreclosure sale. The foreclosure sale must also be scheduled at a specified period of days after the Notice of Sale was issued pursuant to state law. Due to this, Trustee’s Sales are usually scheduled out 3 to 4 weeks after the Notice of Sale is issued to avoid the sale date falling on a weekend or holiday.

It is very important to take the time to read the Notice of Trustee Sale, due to inaccuracies in the Notice of sale. If you find mistakes it can provide you with more time to delay the sale. The following items need to be carefully checked for mistakes:

	The date of the sale is more than 20 calendar days after the issuance of the Notice of Default. ( not the date you received the notice )
	Make sure that it names the specific location where the sale be conducted.
	Your property description is the same as in your note, deed of trust and Notice of Default. ( the street address need not be provided )

Depending upon your states’ requirements’, the Notice of Sale must be mailed to you by certified or registered mail, as well as by first class mail, several weeks before the scheduled sale date. It must be also mailed to any and all junior lien holders, or tenants leasing your property. Junior lien holders would be 2nd mortgages or Equity lines of credit you may have on your property.

The Notice of Sale must be recorded, published, as well as posted. The recording is usually done several weeks before the sale date. The publishing must be done in a generally circulated newspaper in the city, county, or judicial district where your property is located. The Notice of Sale must also be posted, meaning displayed in a conspicuous location so that you, as well as any tenants, and the public can be made aware of the pending sale. The posting is usually required in two locations:

	A public place, such as a court house or city hall on their bulletin boards.
	On your property ( front door usually, or if not feasible any other conspicuous place )
	Pictures will be taken by the Trustee as proof of posting.

Home Relief Now has included a worksheet for you to fill out to ensure that no mistakes have been made. If errors are found in the Notice of sale you may be able to stop the foreclosure process and have the Trustee begin the process over again, which will by you more time in your property. Trustee Sale:
The final step in California’s Non-Judicial Foreclosure procedure is the actual Trustee’s sale of your property.

The sale requirements in California state that the sale may be held on any business day between the hours of 9:00 am and 5.00 pm and must take place at the location spelled out in the Notice of Sale. It usually takes place on the court house steps. Anyone may bid at the sale, which must be made at public auction to the highest bidder. The Trustee may require proof that the bidder has the actual funds to buy your property as well.

A Trustee’s Sale may be postponed for the following reasons and will have to be re-scheduled at a later date:

	If you and your lender are negotiating new terms.
	The Trustee discovers that all parties were not properly notified.
	If no one bids on your property.
	The Trustee is a no show at the sale.
	It can be postponed by court order due to a bankruptcy, injunction, or restraining order.

Property owners in California need to know that lenders may not seek a deficiency judgment after a Non- Judicial Foreclosure Sale and that the borrower has no rights of redemption after the sale finalizes. In other words, if the property sells for less than what you owe, you will not be held accountable for the balance.

It is important for you the property owner to understand that once the new owner receives a Trustee’s Deed, the new owner is entitled to take possession of your property and that you are expected by law to immediately move out.

If you refuse to leave the property voluntarily, the new owner has the right to serve you with a Notice to Quit, which states that you must move out within three days. If you still don’t move out, the new owner has the right to file an eviction action called an Unlawful Detainer against you in court.

If you have tenants on your former property, you will not be able to collect rents anymore after the Trustee’s Sale. From that date forward, the tenants will be required to pay rent directly to the new owners.