Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

The attorney who sent you a letter is soliciting your business, and I would be wary. Currently, the California State Bar does not consider the use of a letter to be soliciting in violation of their ethics rules, but personally I don't think it is any different than the guys who approach you in person at an accident scene.

You need to find out as soon as possible whether or not the lender has had the Trustee under the Deed of Trust record a Notice of Default at the County Recorder's Office. You should be able to do this quite easily. If a Notice of Default is what you received, and what is recorded, then the people you have hired to perform you loan modification are lying to you. A recorded Notice of Default is the manner by which a lender commences nonjudicial foreclosure in California.

Who is this "company you are working with to refinance your house"? Why would you believe them instead of your lender who sent you a notice of foreclosure?

Many, if not most, companies 'helping' people with foreclosures are taking money without providing actual help. Many are doing so illegally. Many advertise and promote through false scare tactics, like 'notices' and letters to homeowners. Few loan renegotiation's or short sales are actually approved by lenders. Most end up failing, without stopping the foreclosures. That's because the lenders are not inclined to let you off the hook and lose money on their loans. They are still drinking the kool-aid and believing the housing market will turn around soon. If you employ someone to 'help' you, at least do a thorough check of them and their success rate, seek references.

I agree with Mr. Roach. A new law requires the lender to contact the borrower informally some weeks before serving and recording an official Notice of Default, in order to pre-warn the borrower and discuss the need to cure the default and the consequences of not doing so. Nevertheless, the Notice of Default is the first real step in the foreclosure process. In addition to recording the NOD with the County Recorder, the lender (or its trustee) must mail a copy of the NOD to the borrower by certified (or registered) mail, and most will also send a copy by regular mail at the same time, because some folks don't bother to sign for certified mail or even to go to the post office to pick it up after home delivery fails. So, it's pretty easy to tell a real Notice of Default from lawyer solicitations. The time between recording the NOD and the next step, the Notice of Trustee's Sale, must be at least three (3) months, and may be longer, especially these days when the foreclosure channels are backlogged. The sale itself is typically set for 20 - 45 days after the notice.