Kern County Foreclosure Resources

Both paths exist in California. Non-judicial foreclosure under a deed of trust with a power of sale is the path used in the overwhelming majority of cases — over 99% — and it runs through a trustee, outside the court system. Judicial foreclosure remains legally available, most often where a lender wants to pursue a deficiency. Which path applies to your loan changes your timeline, the notices you receive, and where a defense is filed.

California allows a 3-month reinstatement period after the notice of default is recorded — among the longest in the nation. During that window you can cure the default by paying the amounts owed and stop the foreclosure. It is the clearest pre-sale right a California homeowner has.

The HBOR requires your lender to assign a single point of contact, prohibits dual tracking — advancing the foreclosure while a modification request is under review — and requires a written denial that states the specific reasons a modification was refused. These obligations apply whether your loan is being foreclosed non-judicially or judicially.

Almost never on a residential loan. California bars any deficiency after a non-judicial trustee sale of a residential 1-4 unit property regardless of loan purpose (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 580d), and bars deficiency on purchase-money loans for owner-occupied 1-4 unit property (§ 580b). A deficiency is available only after judicial foreclosure on non-purchase-money loans not covered by § 580b.

Even though most California foreclosures are non-judicial, a court process still becomes relevant in three situations: if the lender forecloses judicially, if you bring a wrongful foreclosure action over a defect in the notice sequence, or in a post-sale eviction proceeding after the trustee sale. That is why this page covers both paths rather than only one.

Kern County is one of the largest counties in California by area and unusually varied — Bakersfield and its suburbs hold most of the population, while oil fields, farmland and desert stretch toward the Tehachapi Mountains and the Sierra foothills. Housing ranges from dense urban tracts to rural and semi-rural property on large parcels, and condition and access vary considerably. Two features of California law are especially relevant across that range. First, the default foreclosure path is non-judicial: a trustee sale driven by a recorded notice of default, a 3-month reinstatement period, and a notice of sale at least 20 days out. Second, California's anti-deficiency protections are strong — no deficiency after a non-judicial sale of a residential 1-4 unit property, and none on purchase-money owner-occupied loans — so the financial exposure after a trustee sale is usually limited.