How nonjudicial foreclosure process works​: Usually, before the foreclosure process starts, the lender sends many letters demanding payment. If they want to start foreclosure, they'll need to follow the steps and timeline below.​

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Lender contacts you to do a foreclosure avoidance assessment

The lender must contact you and anyone else on the mortgage loan to

• Assess your financial situation

• Explore your options to avoid foreclosure (called a “foreclosure avoidance assessment”)

 

They must also tell you that you have a right to ask for another meeting to talk about how to avoid foreclosure. If you ask for you, they must schedule it to take place within 14 days.

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This is your chance to try to work out a plan to avoid foreclosure. If you want, you can authorize a lawyer, HUD-certified housing counseling agency, or another advisor to talk on your behalf with the lender. You cannot be forced to accept any plan that your representative and the lender come up with during that discussion.

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30 days after contact, lender can record a Notice of Default 

Thirty days after contacting you, if you and the lender have not worked out a plan to avoid foreclosure, the lender can record a Notice of Default in the county where your home is located. 

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Recording a Notice of Default marks the start of the formal and public foreclosure process. The lender sends you a copy of this notice by certified mail within 10 business days of recording it.

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You have 90 days from the date that the Notice of Default is recorded to “cure” (fix, usually by paying what is owed) the default. You can use this time to try to negotiate a loan modification or repayment plan.

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90 days later, lender can record a Notice of Sale

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Starting 90 days after the lease was recorded, if you do not pay what you owe, a Notice of Sale is recorded. The Notice of Sale states that the trustee will sell your home at auction in 21 days.

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The Notice of Sale must:

• Be sent to you by certified mail

• Be published weekly in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where your home is located for 3 consecutive weeks before the sale date

• Be posted on your property, as well as in a public place, usually at your local courthouse

 

The Notice must have:

• The date, time, and location of the foreclosure sale

• The property address

• The trustee’s name, address, and phone number

• A statement that the property will be sold at a public auction

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21 days later, the property can be sold

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At least 21 days after the date when the Notice of Sale is recorded, the property can be sold at a public auction. At the auction

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• The successful bidder must pay the full amount of the bid immediately with cash or a cashier’s check.

• The lender usually bids, in the amount of the balance due plus the foreclosure costs.

 

If no one else bids, your home goes to the lender. The successful bidder gets a trustee's deed once the sale is complete.

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After the foreclosure

Whoever buys your home can't just change the locks. The new owner must serve you with a 3-day written notice to quit (move out). If you don't move out in the 3 days, they must go through the formal eviction process in court in order to get possession of the home. That process typically takes several weeks.  

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If your home was foreclosed on by your HOA, you have more time to regain your home. You have 90 days after the foreclosure sale to pay off any amount owed to regain ownership.

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If your home sells for more than you owed on the home, you're entitled to the "surplus" funds. The process to get those funds is simple.