Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Pictures

This means your bank is starting foreclosure. There are a lot of posts on this site discussing the timeline for foreclosure in California - you're probably at step one - Notice of Default (that's probably the certified letter). My firm's website has an article about foreclosure that also has a timeline. The person taking pictures is either an asset manager for the bank, or an appraiser gathering information to help them remarket and manage the property after they foreclose.

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Re: Pictures

The actual people taking the pictures are probably from a private service that is one of many that have sprung up recently to help lenders manage their large and growing inventory of foreclosed (and often vacant) houses. They may either want base line condition documentation so they can compare the way the property looked at the start of foreclosure, at the foreclosure sale, and at an ultimate sale to a new occupant, as a way to monitor vandalism, etc.; or, perhaps, the lender is documenting existing poor maintenance and upkeep as a prelude to accusing you of "waste" (a legal term for not taking care of the collateral as well as expected of you). Or, it could be as Mr. Gibbs suggests, that they are making an appraisal for remarketing purposes.