HERA
housing and economic rights advocates
CALIFORNIA’S FORECLOSURE PROCESS AND TIMELINES- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How does the foreclosure process work in California?
The most commonly used process is called the “non-judicial process”. The loan servicer or lender:
i. Must contact you and/or whoever else is on the mortgage loan, by phone or in person, to assess your financial situation and explore your options to avoid foreclosure.
ii. Cannot start the foreclosure process until at least 30 days after making contact to do that assessment and explore options to avoid foreclosure.
iii. Must advise you during that first contact that you have the right to request another meeting about how to avoid foreclosure. That meeting must be scheduled to take place within 14 days.
iv. You may designate a HUD-certified housing counseling agency, attorney, or other
advisor to talk on your behalf with the servicer or lender about ways to avoid foreclosure. You get a chance to accept or reject any loan modification or other foreclosure avoidance plan that your representative and the lender/servicer come up with during that conversation.
v. After taking these steps, if no foreclosure avoidance plan has been worked out, the foreclosing entity must record and serve the homeowner (and anyone else listed on the title) with a Notice of Default.
<b>vi. A minimum of three months after serving the Notice of Default, the foreclosing entity must serve the homeowner (and anyone else on title) with a Notice of Sale
vii. A minimum pf twenty days later, the property can be sold at a foreclosure sale. Before the foreclosure process begins, the lender or loan servicer will probably send you two or three letters (over the course of 2-3 months) demanding payment. Those letters are not notices of default.</b>
phone 510.271.8443 fax 510.868.4521
HERACA.ORG p.o. box 29435 oakland ca 94604
http://heraca.org/downloads/CA_Foreclosure_FAQs_11_08.pdf
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Fortress Investments was the lender. Here's a history:
To secure the Bank of America loans in 2001, Jackson offered as collateral his 50 percent stake in a Sony partnership that holds copyrights to more than 200 Beatles songs. The loans were also backed by Jackson's own music library and a partial deed on his Neverland ranch in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Typically, when a debtor defaults or is about to default on a loan, terms are renegotiated. Another option is for the lender to sell the loan -- and the collateral that comes with it -- to another party. Bank of America chose to sell the loans to the hedge fund, New York-based Fortress Investment Group.
Hedge funds are largely unregulated investment vehicles that are designed for wealthy investors looking for big returns on riskier bets.
A small fraction of hedge funds invest in what are known as distressed securities, such as debts like Jackson's.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/05/news/newsmakers/jackson_loan/index.htm
Then in March of 2008, Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch Loan Sold by Fortress Investment Group to Colony Capital.
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Jermaine introduces Michael to Thome who introduces Colony Capital. Are you with me so far?
