Guide
What is a Notice of Default in California?
The short answer
A Notice of Default (NOD) is the lender's formal, recorded warning that you have broken your mortgage contract. It usually comes once you are three or four payments behind, about 90 to 120 days late. You are now in pre-foreclosure: you have not lost the home, but foreclosure can follow if nothing changes.
Joe Hall, Realtor · Ventura County · About Joe
It is not one missed payment
Being 30 days late is not default. In Joe's words, a homeowner in default has "missed three or four payments, meaning they're 90 to 120 days late, and that's when the lender has a legal right to file a notice of default."
Chapter one of foreclosure
Joe describes the Notice of Default and the Notice of Sale as chapter one and chapter two of foreclosure. "Notice of default is a warning. Notice of sale is a plan of action."
Roughly 90 days after a Notice of Default, the lender can post a Notice of Sale with an auction date.
What to do now
Do not go quiet. The lender has a fleet of attorneys working to collect. Talking to the lender, or having an advocate talk for you, buys time and opens options: a loan modification, a short sale, or a sale before the auction that protects your equity.
Questions
Quick answers.
Does a Notice of Default mean I will lose my house?
No. It means you are in pre-foreclosure. It is a serious warning, but there is usually time to modify the loan, sell, or otherwise resolve it before a sale.
How far behind am I when I get a Notice of Default?
Usually three or four payments, about 90 to 120 days late.
What comes after a Notice of Default in California?
About 90 days later the lender can post a Notice of Sale, which sets an auction date. California requires at least 20 days' notice before the sale.
Related guides
How long does foreclosure take in California?
As a rule of thumb, about 210 days from your first missed payment.
Read the answerGuideCalifornia AB 2424, explained.
AB 2424 lets a California homeowner postpone a scheduled foreclosure sale in two steps.
Read the answerGuideBehind on your mortgage? Do this first.
Don't isolate yourself, and don't stop communicating with the lender.
Read the answerTalk to Joe.
Every situation is different. Tell Joe where things stand and he will walk you through your real options.