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California Civil Code Section 2924f

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Civil Code > California Civil Code Section 2924f

2924f.  (a) As used in this section and Sections 2924g and 2924h,
"property" means real property or a leasehold estate therein, and
"calendar week" means Monday through Saturday, inclusive.
   (b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (c), before any sale of
property can be made under the power of sale contained in any deed of
trust or mortgage, or any resale resulting from a rescission for a
failure of consideration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
2924h, notice of the sale thereof shall be given by posting a written
notice of the time of sale and of the street address and the
specific place at the street address where the sale will be held, and
describing the property to be sold, at least 20 days before the date
of sale in one public place in the city where the property is to be
sold, if the property is to be sold in a city, or, if not, then in
one public place in the judicial district in which the property is to
be sold, and publishing a copy once a week for three consecutive
calendar weeks.
   (2) The first publication to be at least 20 days before the date
of sale, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city
in which the property or some part thereof is situated, if any part
thereof is situated in a city, if not, then in a newspaper of general
circulation published in the judicial district in which the property
or some part thereof is situated, or in case no newspaper of general
circulation is published in the city or judicial district, as the
case may be, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the
county in which the property or some part thereof is situated, or in
case no newspaper of general circulation is published in the city or
judicial district or county, as the case may be, in a newspaper of
general circulation published in the county in this state that is
contiguous to the county in which the property or some part thereof
is situated and has, by comparison with all similarly contiguous
counties, the highest population based upon total county population
as determined by the most recent federal decennial census published
by the Bureau of the Census.
   (3) A copy of the notice of sale shall also be posted in a
conspicuous place on the property to be sold at least 20 days before
the date of sale, where possible and where not restricted for any
reason. If the property is a single-family residence the posting
shall be on a door of the residence, but, if not possible or
restricted, then the notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place on
the property; however, if access is denied because a common entrance
to the property is restricted by a guard gate or similar impediment,
the property may be posted at that guard gate or similar impediment
to any development community.
   (4) The notice of sale shall conform to the minimum requirements
of Section 6043 of the Government Code and be recorded with the
county recorder of the county in which the property or some part
thereof is situated at least 20 days prior to the date of sale.
   (5) The notice of sale shall contain the name, street address in
this state, which may reflect an agent of the trustee, and either a
toll-free telephone number or telephone number in this state of the
trustee, and the name of the original trustor, and also shall contain
the statement required by paragraph (3) of subdivision (c). In
addition to any other description of the property, the notice shall
describe the property by giving its street address, if any, or other
common designation, if any, and a county assessor's parcel number;
but if the property has no street address or other common
designation, the notice shall contain a legal description of the
property, the name and address of the beneficiary at whose request
the sale is to be conducted, and a statement that directions may be
obtained pursuant to a written request submitted to the beneficiary
within 10 days from the first publication of the notice. Directions
shall be deemed reasonably sufficient to locate the property if
information as to the location of the property is given by reference
to the direction and approximate distance from the nearest
crossroads, frontage road, or access road. If a legal description or
a county assessor's parcel number and either a street address or
another common designation of the property is given, the validity of
the notice and the validity of the sale shall not be affected by the
fact that the street address, other common designation, name and
address of the beneficiary, or the directions obtained therefrom are
erroneous or that the street address, other common designation, name
and address of the beneficiary, or directions obtained therefrom are
omitted.
   (6) The term "newspaper of general circulation," as used in this
section, has the same meaning as defined in Article 1 (commencing
with Section 6000) of Chapter 1 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the
Government Code.
   (7) The notice of sale shall contain a statement of the total
amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the
property to be sold and reasonably estimated costs, expenses,
advances at the time of the initial publication of the notice of
sale, and, if republished pursuant to a cancellation of a cash
equivalent pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2924h, a reference
of that fact; provided, that the trustee shall incur no liability for
any good faith error in stating the proper amount, including any
amount provided in good faith by or on behalf of the beneficiary. An
inaccurate statement of this amount shall not affect the validity of
any sale to a bona fide purchaser for value, nor shall the failure to
post the notice of sale on a door as provided by this subdivision
affect the validity of any sale to a bona fide purchaser for value.
   (8) (A) On and after April 1, 2012, if the deed of trust or
mortgage containing a power of sale is secured by real property
containing from one to four single-family residences, the notice of
sale shall contain substantially the following language, in addition
to the language required pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (7),
inclusive:

   NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on
this property lien, you should understand that there are risks
involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a
lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a
trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear
ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien
being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest
bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off
all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can
receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to
investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens
that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder's
office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a
fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources,
you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one
mortgage or deed of trust on the property.

   NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of
sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee,
beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the
California Civil Code. The law requires that information about
trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the
public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish
to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if
applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this
property, you may call [telephone number for information regarding
the trustee's sale] or visit this Internet Web site [Internet Web
site address for information regarding the sale of this property],
using the file number assigned to this case [case file number].
Information about postponements that are very short in duration or
that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be
reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site.
The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the
scheduled sale.

   (B) A mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or authorized agent shall
make a good faith effort to provide up-to-date information regarding
sale dates and postponements to persons who wish this information.
This information shall be made available free of charge. It may be
made available via an Internet Web site, a telephone recording that
is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or through any other
means that allows 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no-cost access
to updated information. A disruption of any of these methods of
providing sale date and postponement information to allow for
reasonable maintenance or due to a service outage shall not be deemed
to be a violation of the good faith standard.
   (C) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), nothing in the wording
of the notices required by subparagraph (A) is intended to modify or
create any substantive rights or obligations for any person
providing, or specified in, either of the required notices. Failure
to comply with subparagraph (A) or (B) shall not invalidate any sale
that would otherwise be valid under Section 2924f.
   (D) Information provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) does not
constitute the public declaration required by subdivision (d) of
Section 2924g.
   (9) If the sale of the property is to be a unified sale as
provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 9604 of the Commercial Code, the notice of sale shall also
contain a description of the personal property or fixtures to be
sold. In the case where it is contemplated that all of the personal
property or fixtures are to be sold, the description in the notice of
the personal property or fixtures shall be sufficient if it is the
same as the description of the personal property or fixtures
contained in the agreement creating the security interest in or
encumbrance on the personal property or fixtures or the filed
financing statement relating to the personal property or fixtures. In
all other cases, the description in the notice shall be sufficient
if it would be a sufficient description of the personal property or
fixtures under Section 9108 of the Commercial Code. Inclusion of a
reference to or a description of personal property or fixtures in a
notice of sale hereunder shall not constitute an election by the
secured party to conduct a unified sale pursuant to subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 9604 of the Commercial
Code, shall not obligate the secured party to conduct a unified sale
pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 9604 of the Commercial Code, and in no way shall render
defective or noncomplying either that notice or a sale pursuant to
that notice by reason of the fact that the sale includes none or less
than all of the personal property or fixtures referred to or
described in the notice. This paragraph shall not otherwise affect
the obligations or duties of a secured party under the Commercial
Code.
   (c) (1) This subdivision applies only to deeds of trust or
mortgages which contain a power of sale and which are secured by real
property containing a single-family, owner-occupied residence, where
the obligation secured by the deed of trust or mortgage is contained
in a contract for goods or services subject to the provisions of the
Unruh Act (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1801) of Title 2 of
Part 4 of Division 3).
   (2) Except as otherwise expressly set forth in this subdivision,
all other provisions of law relating to the exercise of a power of
sale shall govern the exercise of a power of sale contained in a deed
of trust or mortgage described in paragraph (1).
   (3) If any default of the obligation secured by a deed of trust or
mortgage described in paragraph (1) has not been cured within 30
days after the recordation of the notice of default, the trustee or
mortgagee shall mail to the trustor or mortgagor, at his or her last
known address, a copy of the following statement:

  YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A
  _______________________________________________,
             (Deed of trust or mortgage)
  DATED ____. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT
  YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE.
  IF
  YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE
  PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A
  LAWYER.

   (4) All sales of real property pursuant to a power of sale
contained in any deed of trust or mortgage described in paragraph (1)
shall be held in the county where the residence is located and shall
be made to the person making the highest offer. The trustee may
receive offers during the 10-day period immediately prior to the date
of sale and if any offer is accepted in writing by both the trustor
or mortgagor and the beneficiary or mortgagee prior to the time set
for sale, the sale shall be postponed to a date certain and prior to
which the property may be conveyed by the trustor to the person
making the offer according to its terms. The offer is revocable until
accepted. The performance of the offer, following acceptance,
according to its terms, by a conveyance of the property to the
offeror, shall operate to terminate any further proceeding under the
notice of sale and it shall be deemed revoked.
   (5) In addition to the trustee fee pursuant to Section 2924c, the
trustee or mortgagee pursuant to a deed of trust or mortgage subject
to this subdivision shall be entitled to charge an additional fee of
fifty dollars ($50).
   (6) This subdivision applies only to property on which notices of
default were filed on or after the effective date of this
subdivision.
   (d) With respect to residential real property containing no more
than four dwelling units, a separate document containing a summary of
the notice of sale information in English and the languages
described in Section 1632 shall be attached to the notice of sale
provided to the mortgagor or trustor pursuant to Section 2923.3.

Last modified: February 22, 2013