Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

You don't say, but I'll assume, the question concerns a note and first trust deed on your primary residence. If it were a business loan, for example, the answer would be quite different. Acceleration is, I think, a somewhat unusual step in a routine default situation on a residential loan. Usually, they just do the trustee-sale thing.

I think the first thing I would do is confirm as many facts as possible, as follows. 1. Go to the County Recorder and see whether any notices have been recorded against the property in the last few months - it's possible you may have overlooked something. 2. Re-read your loan agreement and see what it says about the bank's right to accelerate. 3. Re-read the notice of intent to accelerate and see what else it says, e.g., what is the nature of the breach that gives the bank the right to accelerate and are they asserting any other threats, e.g. foreclosure?

Next, I would not trust anything a lender representative says over the phone. The person you spoke with may genuinely believe he or she was speaking knowledgably and giving good advice, but we are hearing all too often about one department of a big financial institution saying (for example) they're almost done working on your loan modification, or approval of your short sale should come in next week, and then bingo! a foreclosure sale notice arrives.

This is probably more often than not poor communication within the lending institution, overwork, insufficient training, etc. but it is also unethical.

Finally, in a standard trustee-sale foreclosure, a borrower has a statutory right to reinstate the loan in all respects by paying the full amount of arrearages, costs and penalties within 5 business days prior to the announced date of sale. Civil Code section 2924c(e).

Usually a bank does not begin the actual process of filing a Notice of Default until you are about 90 days past due. If you are not that far past due (it sounds like you are less than 30 days) the chances are you will be fine by the 30th.

Remember, the first line of contact with the banks is collectors whose job it is to get you to pay.