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Trustee Sale List - All San Diego County
REO Sale List - All San Diego County

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You must move fast to purchase distressed properties in Tierra Santa and Del Cerro. Our lists will help you go after them.

Notice of Default
When a person is late on their mortgage payment, a notice of default is issued. (By the way, that is a really bad thing for your credit to let happen.) The OVERWHELMING majority of such notices are resolved. The reason for the late payment could have had many causes, and most often such situations are quickly addressed by the home owner. While a few of these pre-foreclosure homes may be in the MLS, most are not. For these reasons, we do not display NOD information. If you want NOD/pre-foreclosure data, then we recommend that you use subscription foreclosure data web site.

Notice of Trustee Sale
In those circumstances when the late payments are not paid, the mortgage holder institutes a Notice of Trustee Sale. (In California, FORECLOSURE is, for legal reasons that are more in depth than this page, not the remedy of choice for the mortgage holders. In other parts of the country, the foreclosure remedy IS used. But, if you use the term foreclosure, everyone understands that you are talking about a Trustee sale.) It usually takes a little more than four months for a trustee sale to occur, and this is the sale of the property at the Courthouse.

When a bank sells a property at auction due to a mortgage default, the bank cares primarily that the mortgage gets paid off. If the property sells for more than the mortgage amount, then the homeowner will get the remaining amount. The important thing to remember is that it is the Trustee (i.e., the mortgage holder), not the homeowner, who decides if the offered auction price is acceptable. If the auction price exceeds the mortgage amount, the price should be acceptable to the Trustee.

REOs
If no one buys the property at a Trustee Sale, the mortgage holder becomes the owner of the home. These are called "REOs." (It's possible that a homeowner could also tender the deed due to an inability to pay.) The bank is now selling the property with the intention of getting the loan amount out of the sale. The bank is not a real estate speculator. The bank specializes in lending money for home loans. Consequently, the bank wants to maximize the amount of the sale, but wants to get rid of the property as well.

Many times the bank will list the REO properties in the MLS at a discounted price. They just want to sell the property and get on with lending money. The details of these homes for sale is often not included in the MLS, but here are a few common traits: 1) no disclosures because the bank doesn't know anything about the home for sale; 2) buyer pays all closing costs because the bank is often not local and wants to know what its net proceeds are going to be instead of the bank having to learn what local costs are involved; and 3) a stack of disclosures and paperwork that are specially required by the bank.

These MLS listings can be great deals, ranging anywhere from 5% to 15% of a discount off the market price. If you want a whopping deal, you have to go to the auctions. The good news is that you can inspect the property and have a loan, both of which are not possible at the auctions.

Buying property at the courthouse is somewhat complicated and it is best to go to an auction before ever bidding at one. You will need to have the ENTIRE purchase price with you in the form of bank checks (e.g., if the home sells for $425,000, then you need to have the ENTIRE amount in your pocket in the form of cashier's checks). You will need to qualify with the auctioneer by showing the money that you brought. It is probably best to have the checks made payable to yourself, and then you can endorse them over if you are the winning bid.

You also must be certain about the property that you are bidding on. You will need to have the title examined in advance so that you know what you are bidding on. You will probably not have an opportunity to inspect the interior and so you may have to make a judgment from the exterior appearance. You may be competing with other bidders, and you must know, in advance, the maximum amount that you are willing to pay for a home. If someone else bids more, then you need not feel "beaten;" you played your plan, according to your analysis.

If you want to buy distressed properties, it would be wise to read some of the books that have been written about this subject. There are California laws that provide protection against investors who take advantage in distressed situations, so you need to know what you are doing. If you make representations to a homeowner, you may also subject yourself to liability situations. If you do plan to try to deal directly with the homeowner instead of waiting for the trustee sale, then you will need to familiarize yourself thoroughly with the relevant sections of the California code.

Click here to read California Code 2924 et seq. on Trustee Sales procedures. For pre-sale activities, you may wish to review the sections on Foreclosure Consultants, Home Equity Purchasing, and Rent Skimming.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How often do you update your data?
A: We get our data weekly. If you want data that is updated EVERY day, then you have to go with a commercial service. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal discussed how even the commercial services can have accuracy problems. Click here for our recommended source of subscription foreclosure data. (This service won't sell your personal information like some of them do.

Q: Can the HTeam assist in the purchase of distressed properties?
A: We provide the distressed properties lists as a courtesy to our clients that want to investigate these opportunities. However, because the property is in distress, there usually isn't enough money to pay a real estate agent for the time involved. Providing assistance would still create potential liability, and we cannot accept such exposure where there isn't any compensation. Short Answer: No, we don't get involved, but we do wish everyone the best of luck in pursuing these. If you can't find what you want at the foreclosure auctions, then call us -- we can help you find a great deal on an REO, probate sale, or other kind of motivated seller.

Q: When do the auctions take place?
A: Each of our lists provides the location, date, and time of the sale. If you are a Registered-Plus user, then you also get the Trustee's name/phone number and ID number for the sale so that you may call in advance to confirm the auction.