California Foreclosure Guide

Agricultural Easements That Survive Foreclosure in Solano County, California

Solano County's Williamson Act contracts and agricultural conservation easements can bind foreclosure buyers to decades of land-use restrictions.

Why Your San Mateo County Trustee Sale Bid Could Collapse Three Days After the Auction

A bankruptcy filed hours before a San Mateo trustee sale can void your purchase. PACER checks before bidding aren't optional—they're essential.

Ventura County Tax-Defaulted Sales: When Parcel Boundaries and Recorded Easements Create Post-Purchase Chaos

Ventura County tax-defaulted sales can transfer parcels with boundary disputes and easements that survive the sale—problems your title policy won't cover.

Assessment District Liens in Contra Costa County: The Payoff Records That Trip Up Foreclosure Buyers

Contra Costa's Mello-Roos and 1915 Act bonds can survive foreclosure with principal balances exceeding the property's equity. Here's what to verify.

Mechanic's Lien Priority at Fresno County Trustee Sales: When the Deed of Trust Loses

A mechanic's lien recorded after the deed of trust can still take priority in Fresno County if work began before the loan funded.

Tax-Defaulted Property Sales in San Bernardino County: What Survives and What the Parcel Records Won't Tell You

San Bernardino County tax-defaulted auctions can leave IRS liens, some easements, and assessment bonds intact. Here's what survives the sale.

The Preliminary 20-Day Notice Trap: Why Riverside County Mechanic's Liens Survive Your Foreclosure Purchase

In Riverside County, a mechanic's lien can survive foreclosure if the 20-day preliminary notice was properly served — and you won't find it in standard title searches.

Sacramento County Tax-Defaulted Land Sales: Which Liens Survive and Which Get Wiped

Sacramento County's tax-defaulted auctions clear most encumbrances—but federal tax liens, certain assessments, and recorded easements survive. Know before you bid.

Kern County Tax-Defaulted Sales: Oil and Mineral Severances That Survive the Auction

In Kern County tax-defaulted sales, severed mineral rights don't transfer to the buyer. California law preserves prior mineral severances, leaving investors with surface-only ownership.

Documentary Transfer Tax Liens in Alameda County: The Oakland Trustee Sale Trap That Survives Foreclosure

Oakland's documentary transfer tax creates priority liens that can survive Alameda County trustee sales — a $15,000+ risk most investors miss entirely.

The Design Professional's Separate Mechanic's Lien Right in Orange County, California

In Orange County CA, architects and engineers hold mechanic's lien rights separate from general contractors—a risk that survives foreclosure if not properly extinguished.

The Tax-Defaulted Property Overlap Trap at San Diego County Trustee Sales

San Diego trustee sale buyers face a hidden risk when properties are simultaneously in tax default — here's why the foreclosure doesn't clear the tax lien.

PACE and Mello-Roos Liens in California: The Assessment Stack That Survives Your Foreclosure Purchase

California PACE and Mello-Roos assessments ride through foreclosure as tax liens. Here's exactly how the lien stack works and what you inherit.

California's 90-Day Mechanic's Lien Notice: The Pre-Foreclosure Trap That Wipes Out Investor Equity

California Civil Code §8460 creates a 90-day lien extension that survives foreclosure timing—and most investors discover it after the trustee sale.

The Mechanic's Lien That Survives Your Los Angeles County Foreclosure Purchase

California's relation-back doctrine can make a mechanic's lien senior to the mortgage you just foreclosed—even if the lien was recorded after the deed of trust.

When CBP Seizes Your Equity: Customs Liens on Mixed-Use Properties in California Border Counties

Federal customs liens in San Diego and Imperial counties survive foreclosure and attach to mixed-use properties — often invisible until you own the problem.

The Subordination Agreement That Was Never Recorded: How Failed Execution Scrambles Lien Priority in California

A California investor bought a property expecting clear title, only to discover an unrecorded subordination agreement left a $340,000 construction loan in first position.

Assignment of Rents That Survives Foreclosure in California: The Trap That Costs Investors Rental Income

California's recorded assignments of rents can bind foreclosure buyers, diverting rental income to prior lenders even after the trustee's sale closes.

When a California Beneficiary Can Unwind a Trustee's Self-Dealing Conveyance — And Why Your Foreclosure Title Isn't Safe

California trust beneficiaries can void trustee property sales years after closing. Here's how this kills foreclosure titles.

When a Trust Amendment Rewrites Ownership: The California Title Trap That Survives Foreclosure Auctions

A post-deed trust amendment in California can create competing ownership claims that standard title searches miss—leaving auction buyers exposed to litigation.

When a California Judgment Follows Your Seller to Texas: The Domesticated Foreign Judgment Lien Trap

A judgment from another state can be registered in Texas in days, creating a lien that survives foreclosure and blindsides auction buyers.