Stage 4 of 4 · The Sale and What Follows

Trustee's Sale

The public auction conducted by the trustee under a deed of trust to sell the property to the highest bidder.

In plain English
The trustee's sale is the auction itself in a nonjudicial state. It happens at the time and place the notice named, usually outdoors, and it is over in minutes.
Example
A trustee reads the property description on the courthouse steps, opens at the lender's figure, and the gavel falls in under two minutes.
Why it matters
Title changes hands here, and everything a borrower could have done to keep the house ends the moment the bidding closes.
Remember it as
Two minutes on the steps.

Where it lands in the timeline

An emptied living room at dusk, pale rectangles on the wall where frames once hung, one lamp glowing on a small side table and a few taped boxes by the door, Temecula CA.

Stage 4: The Sale and What Follows

The gavel falls in minutes, but the money, the move and even the tax bill keep arriving long after, so this phase covers what the sale leaves behind.

Read the full story

Every term in the Foreclosure Glossary →

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