Up to 500,000 homeowners could face foreclosure on their homes this year alone, and the residents of Livermore are not immune. If you’re interested in knowing more about the foreclosure process, our foreclosure defense lawyer can help clear it up for you.

Below, we will detail the entire process for you from beginning to end to help you gain more understanding about the process and know what to expect.

The Beginning

The thing that triggers the foreclosure process is a payment that’s missed. There are several reasons that someone might miss making a payment on their homes, including:

  • Running low on money
  • Losing your job
  • Falling behind
  • Becoming too sick to work

The foreclosure process doesn’t start immediately after a missed payment, because your bank will allow you to make a late payment that comes with a late fee and a late notice. However, the more time it takes you to make a payment, the further behind you become, which puts your home at an increased risk of foreclosure.

Notice of Default

When your loan’s placed in default status, the bank will send you a notice of default in the mail. This notice is a legal document, and by law, they are required to give recipients notice that paperwork has been filed to begin the foreclosure process.

In this notice, you will find information about ways to get your Livermore home out of default, and what can happen if the payments aren’t made. Typically the lender is supposed to give 30 days notice of their intent to accelerate the payment of the entire loan. But Lenders don’t always follow that practice.

Once you receive the Notice of Default the 90 day clock starts before the Notice of Default expires and then a Notice of Trustee Sale can be recorded.

This gives you time to make your payments and bring your loan back into good standing.

180 Days

Once the notice of default has been sent and after the 90-day mark, the bank will set a sale date that your Livermore home will be put on auction at least 20 days after the Notice of Default expire. Again, you will receive notification of this in what’s known as a Notice of Trustee Sale that will be sent through certified mail.

This ensures you receive it and can’t act as if the bank didn’t notify you before putting your home up for auction. There are two types of foreclosures in California.

The first is a judicial foreclosure in which the bank will have to go through the court system. The second is a nonjudicial foreclosure, which is most common, and is when the bank doesn’t have to through the court and only need to record two documents, the Notice of Default, wait 90 days then record a Notice of Trustee sale and your property can be sold on the court house steps.

Auction Day

This is the end of the foreclosure process, and the day your home will be sold to the highest bidder. If you’ve gone through a judicial foreclosure, there is a possibility that you can buy your home back from the person that wins the auction.

This is only when there has been a deficiency judgment given. The only way that you can stop a foreclosure from occurring is either by getting a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) from the Court or reinstate the loan at least 5 business days before the sale date to bring your loan current.

What’s the Foreclosure Process in Livermore?

We’ve detailed the foreclosure process in Livermore, and across the state, from the beginning to the very end. If you find yourself falling behind in your payments, take action ahead of time to do what you can to prevent your home from being foreclosed on.

Are you looking for an attorney that can help you with your foreclosure case? If so, contact Jason W. Estavillo; we know that you need someone on your side that can help you keep your home and we can be there for you.