Foreclosures in California are primarily administered out of court, although court foreclosures are allowed. Out-of-court foreclosures take about four months.

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https://www.acgov.org/cda/hcd/documents/mls_Foreclosure_Process.pdf

Court foreclosures only occur if a lender desires a deficiency judgment. This process gives a borrower up to one year to redeem the property after the foreclosure sale. In almost all cases, foreclosures are handled out of court. The process begins when a lender files a notice of default with the county recorder Alameda County Housing and Community Development identifying the default amount and the date the borrower must pay off the default. The notice is mailed to the borrower and other affected parties. Up to five business days before the trustee's sale, the borrower may pay off the default plus any applicable costs of foreclosure and stop the foreclosure process. Three months after the notice of default is filed, the lender can schedule a trustee's sale of the property.

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https://www.acgov.org/cda/hcd/documents/mls_Foreclosure_Process.pdf

At least 20 days before the trustee's sale, the notice of sale must be posted on the property and in one local public location. The notice is also published once a week for three weeks in a local newspaper, starting at least 20 days before the sale date. The notice is mailed to the borrower at least 20 days before the sale and to anyone who requests the notice. The notice must contain the date, time, and location of the sale, the property address, and the trustee's contact information. In addition, the notice of sale must be recorded with the county recorder at least 14 days before the sale.

For the full answer, click here:

https://www.acgov.org/cda/hcd/documents/mls_Foreclosure_Process.pdf

An REO (Real Estate Owned) is a property that goes back to the mortgage company after an unsuccessful foreclosure auction. Many foreclosure auctions do not result in bids. After all, if there was enough equity in the property to satisfy the loan, the owner would have probably sold the property and paid off the bank. That is why the property ends up at a foreclosure or trustee sale. The bank now owns the property and the mortgage loan no longer exists. The bank will handle the eviction of the previous owners, if necessary, and may do some repairs. They will negotiate with the IRS for removal of tax liens, if any, and pay off any homeowner’s association dues. Once a bank owns the property, they generally list the property for sale.

For the full answer, click here:

https://www.acgov.org/cda/hcd/documents/mls_Foreclosure_Process.pdf