Preforeclosure Field Notes

I spent years on the other side of these deals, first examining documents at a county recorder's counter and later as a title officer in the Inland Empire. Every notice of default that crossed my desk was a family with a few months left and usually more options than they knew about.

These notes are for investors who buy from homeowners in default. They're about the rules, the records and the timing, and about doing it in a way that holds up when the paperwork gets reviewed later. In California it will be.

What the notes cover

The first note reads the foreclosure clock from a buyer's side: what a notice of default actually starts and when the real deadline is. The second is about Civil Code section 1695, the Home Equity Sales Contracts law, which controls how you can buy a house in foreclosure and gives the seller a right to cancel. The third looks at houses where a divorce and a default hit at the same time, which is more common than you'd think.

Where to start reading

The county recorder is where notices of default and notices of trustee sale get recorded. If you work Riverside County, the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder is the office. For homeowners, the federal CFPB explainer on how foreclosure works is short and fair, and it's worth reading so you understand what the seller is hearing from their servicer.

Lead sources vary. Some investors pull recorded notices themselves. Others buy preforeclosure leads in California where the homeowner reached out first, which usually means a more willing conversation and a less certain timeline.

This is general information, not legal advice. Foreclosure law in California has real teeth for buyers who cut corners.

Ramon Ibarra examined documents at a county recorder's counter and later worked as a title officer in the Inland Empire. He writes about preforeclosure from the paperwork side.