Got a notice of default or notice of trustee sale? What do you do next?

Read the notice today, find the date on it, and make three calls this week. The notice of default means your lender has started the foreclosure process. The notice of trustee sale means a sale date has been set. You still have choices at both stages, and each choice has a deadline that gets closer every day.

If you are scared right now, that is a normal response. A letter like this feels final. It is a legal step with dates attached, and the dates tell you how much time you have. Below you will find what each notice says, how to read the dates, and what to do in the first seven days.

What is a notice of default, and what does it say?

A notice of default is the paper that starts a California foreclosure. Your lender or its agent records it with the county recorder, and it says you have fallen behind on the loan.

California Civil Code section 2924 says the notice is recorded in the county recorder's office in each county where the property sits. The same section lists what it must contain. It must identify the deed of trust by the borrower's name and where it was recorded, or by describing the property. It must state that a breach of the loan has occurred. And it must describe each breach the lender knows about and say the lender has chosen to sell the property to satisfy the debt.

In plain words, the notice names the loan, says you are behind, and says the lender plans to sell the home if the debt is not paid.

Look for these items when you read yours.

The notice of default also reaches other people. Under California Civil Code section 2924b, any person can record a request for a copy of the notices on a loan, and copies of the notices go by mail. A family member or an attorney can ask for copies so you are never the only one holding the paper.

What is a notice of trustee sale, and how is it different?

A notice of trustee sale gives the date, time and place of the sale. It is the second notice in the process, and it comes after the notice of default.

California Civil Code section 2924 says that once the three months after the notice of default have passed, the lender or trustee gives notice of sale, stating the time and place of the sale. The statute sends the details of how that notice is given to a separate section, Civil Code section 2924f. Ask your attorney how the notice on your home was posted, published and mailed.

California Civil Code section 2923.3 also calls for a summary with the notice of sale. It tells you to contact a lawyer if you need an explanation of the proceeding, states the amount due, and gives the sale date, time and location, with information about how to check for a postponement.

The notice of default says the lender has started. The notice of trustee sale says when it plans to finish. Once you hold the second one, the date on it is the one to watch.

What do the dates on these notices mean?

The dates mark the earliest point a sale can happen and the last point you can reinstate the loan. Write both on a calendar today.

Start with the earliest sale. California Civil Code section 2924 says at least three months must pass after the notice of default is recorded. It also allows the notice of sale to be recorded up to five days before those three months end, as long as the sale date is no earlier than three months and 20 days after the notice of default was recorded. That is the floor. Your sale can come later than that, and it can be postponed.

Next, the reinstatement deadline. California Civil Code section 2924c lets the borrower, or a successor in interest, pay the amount in default, plus reasonable costs and fees the statute allows, and stop the sale. The cutoff in the statute is five business days before the date of sale set in the first recorded notice of sale. Read that again, because the date to watch is the one on the first notice of sale. Ask your servicer, in writing, for the exact reinstatement amount and the exact deadline, and ask whether a postponement changes it.

Then the ones you cannot find on the notice. A loan modification application can change what the servicer is allowed to do. California Civil Code section 2923.6 says that while a complete first lien loan modification application is pending, the servicer cannot record a notice of default or notice of sale, or conduct a trustee's sale. The same section says the application has to be in at least five business days before a scheduled sale to trigger that. Whether it covers your loan depends on details I cannot see from here, so ask your attorney or counselor. Our article on when it is too late to stop a foreclosure in California goes through those deadlines one by one.

For the full sequence from the first missed payment to the sale, read how long foreclosure takes in California.

Rules change. The sections above are the versions on the state's website when this article was updated on October 4, 2026, and the legislature amends this part of the code often. Confirm the current text with your attorney.

What should I do in the first week?

Make three calls and find one number. Do them in this order, and write down the date, the name of the person and what they said every time.

• Day one: read every page. Find the recording date on the notice of default, the sale date if you have a notice of trustee sale, the amount owed, and the name of the trustee and the servicer. Put the dates on a calendar.
• Call your servicer's loss mitigation department. Ask what foreclosure prevention options you qualify for, what documents they need, and who your single point of contact is. Ask for the reinstatement figure and its deadline in writing.
• Call a HUD-approved housing counselor. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says these agencies are approved by HUD and offer independent advice, often at little or no cost. Use the CFPB's list of HUD-approved counselors or call 1-855-411-2372.
• Talk to an attorney. A real estate attorney or a bankruptcy attorney can read your notices, check whether the servicer followed the contact rules, and tell you which deadlines apply to you. Many offer a first consultation. Ask about the fee before you book.
• Find out what the home is worth. The price of the home decides whether you have equity to protect. Run it through the Free Equity & Exit Report and you get the value from real sales near you, plus the payoff math. Compare that value with your loan balance, any second loan and the unpaid amounts on the notice.
• Decide, with the numbers in front of you. Choose among keeping the home with the servicer's help, selling it, or letting it go on your terms. Pick a path before the dates pick one for you.

Open every piece of mail from the servicer and the trustee. Check anyone who offers to stop the foreclosure for a fee with your attorney and your counselor before you pay. Nobody can promise you the outcome, and that includes us.

Can I sell the house before the sale date?

Yes, as long as the trustee sale has not happened. A regular sale closes escrow, pays off the loan, and leaves whatever is left to you. Your home does not have to go to a trustee sale to end the loan.

The mechanism matters, so here it is. California Civil Code section 2924k sets the order in which a trustee distributes the proceeds of a trustee's sale. First come the costs and expenses of the sale, including the trustee's fees and attorney's fees. Then the debt on the loan being foreclosed. Then the balance owed on junior liens, in order of priority. Anything left goes to the owner. The sale brings whatever bidders pay that day, and the first three items come out before you see a dollar.

A sale you run yourself uses the same math with a price you set by marketing the home. Take an illustrative example. These numbers are made up to show the shape of it. They predict nothing about your home.

Now lower the sale price in the same example until the debts and costs pass it. Nothing is left for the owner. That is the reason the price matters more than anything else on this page. Your lender wants the debt repaid. You keep what the price leaves above the debt.

If the numbers show you owe more than the home will bring, your lender may still agree to a short sale, and our article on short sale versus foreclosure versus deed in lieu compares them. If you have equity, read how to sell a house in foreclosure in California for the steps and the timing.

You also have a choice of buyer. A listing on the open market gives the most exposure and takes the most time. A cash offer closes faster, since it does not wait on a buyer's loan approval. Selling as is removes repair negotiations and keeps your disclosure duties. Run the price for each route before you choose, and get a written payoff from the servicer so the math uses the real figure.

What does the law require the servicer to do for me?

The law requires the servicer to reach out to you, to send you information about alternatives, and in some cases to pause. These rules are why your first call to loss mitigation matters.

The outreach rule is California Civil Code section 2923.5. It says the servicer contacts you in person or by phone to assess your finances and explore options to avoid foreclosure, and the notice of default cannot be recorded until 30 days after that initial contact, or after the servicer shows it tried with due diligence. It also gives you the right to ask for a follow-up meeting, which the servicer must schedule within 14 days.

The information rule is the servicer letter described above, and the pause rule is the loan modification section covered under the dates. All three have conditions and exceptions, so bring the notices to an attorney.

This is not legal advice. Foreclosure law in California changes, each loan has its own terms, and a missed deadline can cost you your home or your equity. Talk to a real estate attorney or a bankruptcy attorney about your own notices before you decide what to do, and talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor about the options your servicer offers. Statute text and links on this page were checked on October 4, 2026, and a section can be amended after that date. Tax questions belong with your CPA.

What do we watch go wrong here?

Three things come up again and again with homeowners holding these notices.

• Waiting for a better month. The dates on the notices keep running while you wait. Every week spent waiting is a week taken off the time you have to list, take an offer and close.
• Guessing at the payoff. Owners compare a sale price to the loan balance on last year's statement. The real payoff includes missed payments, interest and fees. Get it in writing from the servicer.
• Handling it alone. A counselor and an attorney read the notice for dates and defects you may miss.