Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Foreclosure Buy Back

Your right to bring the past due balance current will end shortly before he auction date. You have the right to bid at the auctiom. Once the auction occurs, your rights end unless you file a legal action and can prove there was a defect in the foreclosure proceedings.

You can always offer to buy the property from the buyer, but they have no obligation to sell to you.

Re: Foreclosure Buy Back

The answer depends upon whether the foreclosure is by a trustee acting under a power of sale contained in a deed of trust (most usual in California), or whether it is a judicial foreclosure (court proceedings).

The right of redepmtion in judicial foreclosures is described in Code of Civil Procedure sections 729.010 through 729.090. See also section 726. I will not quote the law in detail because it's a bit lengthy, but you can probably understand it upon reading it yourself.

More likely, however, the foreclosure you have in mind was (or will be) a trustee's sale. In that case, post-sale redemption or reinstatement is much more difficult, and requires going to court to have the sale set aside due to some irregularity or illegality. Merely coming up with the money is insufficient.

As Mr. Starrett points out, anyone, including the defaulting borrower, can bid at the trustee sale. If by "ROE" you mean "REO" (real estate owned), most banks would love to dispose of their inventory at or near cost to anyone who can pay cash or cash them out through a new loan.

Distinguish between "redemption," which means buying back what's been lost through foreclosure, and "reinstatement," which means having a previously-defaulted loan restored to good standing. Prior to foreclosure, you're probably looking mainly or exclusively at reinstatement. Depending upon the circumstances, reainstatement may be accomplished by negotiation with the lender (usually involving paying all arrearages) or as a matter of legal right (see Civil Code section 2924c) after arrearages and costs have been paid.

Re: Foreclosure Buy Back

Yes, yes, and yes. There are many options available to you. Some of those options include using a lawyer, some include using another specialist, like an investor or mortgage broker and some include using both an attorney and another specialist. I have been assisting people in foreclsoures for many years. The most important thing you need to remember is that the quicker you act the more options there will be available to you. I need more info to examine your case so I can lead you to the right person to help you, and so I can apprise you of your options. I offer the first consultation for free.