Foreclosure Defense Attorneys in Orange County

30 Years of Foreclosure Defense. Over $60 Million Recovered for Clients.

Facing foreclosure is one of the most stressful experiences a homeowner can go through. At The Law Offices of Joseph M. Tosti, APC, we have spent more than 30 years helping Orange County homeowners fight back. We’ve brought thousands of cases to successful conclusions and obtained settlements for our clients in excess of $60 million. If you’re weighing your options, we offer a free consultation to help you understand exactly where you stand.

Contact an Irvine foreclosure defense lawyer at The Law Offices of Joseph M. Tosti, APC today. We’re available online or call (949) 245-6288 for a free consultation. We speak Spanish!

What Are the Stages of Foreclosure?

If you’ve missed several mortgage payments, your lender may move to foreclose on your property. The timeline varies by state; here is how the process typically unfolds in California.

The stages of foreclosure:

• Payment Default – when the borrower has missed a mortgage payment. The lender will send a missed payment notice. If a second payment is missed, a demand letter follows. Lenders are generally willing to work with borrowers during this early period.
• Notice of Default (NOD) – a notice sent after 90 days of missed payments. The loan is referred to the lender’s foreclosure department, and the borrower typically has another 90 days to settle with the lender.
• Notice of Trustee’s Sale – if the loan isn’t resolved within 90 days after the NOD, the lender records a Notice of Trustee’s Sale announcing the auction date and location. The notice must be published once a week for three consecutive weeks, and the sale date must be at least 20 days after posting.
• Trustee’s Sale – the property goes to public auction and is awarded to the highest bidder, who becomes the legal owner. The winning bidder is entitled to immediate possession.
• Real Estate Owned (REO) – if the property is not sold at auction, the lender takes ownership and attempts to sell it through a broker or real estate asset manager.
• Eviction – once the property is sold, an eviction notice is issued. A local sheriff is assigned to remove any occupants and belongings that remain, which are typically held in storage for later retrieval.

Time moves quickly once foreclosure begins. Our foreclosure defense lawyers are ready to step in at any stage to protect your rights and help you fight to keep your home.

California Foreclosure Law & Your Rights as a Homeowner

California relies primarily on nonjudicial foreclosure, meaning a power-of-sale clause in your deed of trust allows the lender to sell the home without filing a court lawsuit. When no such clause exists, the lender may pursue judicial foreclosure through a court order instead. Either way, California law requires lenders to follow strict notice, timing, and documentation rules before a trustee’s sale can take place.

Those procedural requirements create real legal opportunities for homeowners. You’re entitled to proper notice of default, meaningful opportunities to cure missed payments, and protections against dual tracking while a loan modification review is pending. Defects in lender notices, missed deadlines by the mortgage servicer, or violations of state or federal law can delay or stop a foreclosure. An experienced foreclosure lawyer in Orange County can identify those defects and use them to protect your position.

Losing a home isn’t the only consequence of foreclosure. A completed foreclosure can cause a significant drop in your credit score and extend the waiting period before you can purchase another home. Our foreclosure defense lawyers understand what’s at stake, and we build the strongest possible case for every client we represent.

Common defenses against foreclosure include:

• State foreclosure procedures were not followed
• The mortgage servicer made errors, such as misapplied payments or inaccurate balances
• The foreclosing bank does not own the promissory note
• The homeowner is on active military duty

Challenging a foreclosure is complex and fact-specific. Working with an Orange County foreclosure defense attorney who knows California law can make a meaningful difference in your case.