Post Foreclosure Assistance Attorney for Los Angeles County and Orange County

Post foreclosure assistance is the work that begins the day after a trustee’s sale, when the former owner is no longer on title but is still in the home and still holds rights the sale did not touch. Over the next 90 days a Los Angeles County or Orange County homeowner typically receives a notice to quit and then a summons, a surplus notice from the trustee, an offer for the keys, and tax forms from the lender. Fred Yadegar handles these as a single matter, so that a concession made on one front is not paid for on another.

The eviction papers, because they carry the shortest deadline

A trustee’s sale transfers title to the buyer once the Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale is recorded. It does not transfer possession. To recover possession the buyer must serve a three-day written notice to quit (Code Civ. Proc. §1161a), wait for it to expire, and then file an unlawful detainer and have you served with a summons and complaint. Bona fide tenants living in the property are entitled to 90 days’ notice instead, and a fixed-term lease is generally honored through its end date (Code Civ. Proc. §1161b).

Since January 1, 2025 the occupant has ten court days from service in which to file a written response (Code Civ. Proc. §1167), and weekends and court holidays are not counted. A response filed on time requires the buyer to prove its case, including that its title came from a sale that complied with the statute. Trial is generally set within about 20 days after either side requests it (Code Civ. Proc. §1170.5), and once judgment is entered the sheriff posts a five-day notice before any lockout. How an eviction defense is built and how possession is kept longer each have their own page.

The trustee’s letter, which may be addressed to a house you left

Once the trustee’s deed is executed, the trustee has 30 days to send surplus notices to every holder of a recorded interest (Civ. Code §2924j), and it uses the address in its file, which is usually the property itself. A written claim, sworn under penalty of perjury, is due 30 days after that mailing. A former owner who has already moved may never see the letter.

Two steps protect the claim. Forward your mail from the foreclosed address, and obtain the recorded Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale to compare the debt with costs to the price the buyer paid. When the second figure is larger, a surplus exists, and how the claim is proved and paid is explained on its own page.

The buyer’s offer for the keys

Most successful bidders at a trustee’s sale are investors, and an occupied house is worth less to them than an empty one. Many will pay for a voluntary move-out on a fixed date. The payment, usually called cash for keys, is worth negotiating.

Every term belongs in writing: the payment, the date you leave, responsibility for utilities in the meantime, the fate of anything left behind, and dismissal of any eviction case the buyer has filed. The release language deserves the closest reading. A document drafted by the buyer’s lawyer may release claims unconnected to possession, and some drafts would waive a claim to the surplus, or a claim for wrongful foreclosure, along with it. We read the agreement before it is signed and counter when the offer is low.

Debts that survive the sale, and debts that do not

California’s anti-deficiency rules do most of the work here. The lender that foreclosed cannot pursue you for a deficiency after a non-judicial trustee’s sale (Code Civ. Proc. §580d). For a purchase-money loan, one that financed the purchase of an owner-occupied home of up to four units, §580b adds a second layer of protection, and it generally follows the debt into a refinance to the extent the refinance paid off the original loan.

Two creditors fall outside those rules. A junior lender whose lien the sale erased, and who collected nothing from the surplus, may in some cases sue on its promissory note, unless that loan too was purchase money. And an association’s lien is removed from the title by the sale, but the assessments that accrued during your ownership stay with you as a personal debt (Civ. Code §5650); the association therefore files its own surplus claim, in line ahead of you. We read every loan document and association statement before telling you what remains.

Forms from the lender, and your credit report

Expect a Form 1099-A, which reports that the lender took the property, and in some cases a Form 1099-C, which reports canceled debt. Either can affect your tax return. We do not give tax advice; take the forms and the sale figures to a tax professional before you file. The foreclosure itself will appear on your credit report, where federal law generally limits adverse items to seven years.

What to do in the first week

• Forward your mail from the property so the trustee’s notice and any court papers reach you
• Write down the date you received any notice to quit or summons; the response window is measured from service
• Obtain the recorded deed from the sale and compare the debt with costs to the price the buyer paid
• Keep the Notice of Default, the Notice of Sale, loan statements, association statements, and every envelope in one place
• Do not sign a move-out agreement or a release until it has been read by counsel
• Call before you speak with the buyer, the buyer’s attorney, or any recovery business

Why this office

Fred Yadegar has been licensed in California since 2006, State Bar #244184, and handles post-foreclosure matters for former owners throughout Los Angeles County and Orange County. Defending the eviction, negotiating the move-out, filing the surplus claim, and reviewing the deficiency and lien questions are one engagement here, not four referrals. For the surplus claim there is no fee up front; our fee is paid from the funds recovered, and only when there is a recovery. For the rest, tell us where things stand and we will explain your options and the cost before you commit to anything.