Foreclosure · July 28, 2026 · 8 min
A Notice of Default is a clock, not a verdict
In California the sale is usually months away. What you do in the first thirty days changes what is still possible.
By Sean · Silverkey Home Offer
If a Notice of Default has been recorded, the house is not gone. In a typical California non-judicial foreclosure the trustee sale is months out. The deadline is the problem. The price is secondary.
This is general education, not legal advice. Read your documents. Talk to a HUD-approved counselor and, if the numbers are messy, a lawyer.
The four steps, without the panic language
Step one. The notice is recorded with the county. The clock starts.
Step two. You generally have at least three months to reinstate — pay what is past due, plus fees, and the default can be cured.
Step three. A Notice of Sale is posted and mailed, typically 20 days or more before the sale date.
Step four. The sale. In many files this is four months or more from the first notice. Some are faster. Some stall. Do not guess. Read the dates on your pages.
What to do, ranked by what it costs you
- Reinstate the loan if you can. Best outcome. The default goes away. You keep the house.
- Call the servicer. Ask about modification, forbearance, repayment, partial claim. Slow. Free. Better than paying someone to make those calls for you.
- HUD-approved counselor. Free, at hud.gov. They will walk the numbers without selling you a listing or a cash offer.
- List with an agent if you have equity and 75–90 days. Highest price when the house can show.
- Sell for cash. Nets less. Closes on a date you pick. Right when the clock is short, the house needs work, or you have no cash to bring to a listing.
- Short sale if you owe more than it is worth. Needs lender approval. Sean does not run short sales. He will say so.
- Talk to an attorney for bankruptcy, divorce, or estate issues. Price the other options first if the sale date is close.
- Do nothing. The sale happens. Equity is lost. Credit takes the hit. There is no upside in waiting to see.
If someone promises to “stop the foreclosure” for a fee
Walk. In California, foreclosure consultants are tightly regulated for a reason. Sean is not a foreclosure consultant. He does not charge a fee to talk, and he does not charge a fee if you say no.
If you are in this window and you want a cash number with a date, send the address. If listing or reinstating is the better move, he will say that too.