Simulation: a fictional property for practice.

A California HOA foreclosure: the 90-day wait

A condo goes to a trustee’s sale for $8,400 of unpaid HOA dues. What comes with it, and when is it yours?

A fictional condo at a nonjudicial HOA foreclosure in California.

• Sale: HOA foreclosure by a trustee, California
• HOA lien: $8,400 of unpaid assessments, plus costs
• Value as-is: About $480,000
• First deed of trust: $350,000, recorded years before the HOA’s notice

Mission 1: Can the HOA foreclose?

When can a California HOA foreclose for unpaid dues?

• Only when unpaid assessments reach $1,800 or are more than 12 months late; late fees, collection costs and interest don’t count toward the $1,800
• Any time an owner is late or owes a fine

The board must also vote to foreclose at least 30 days before the sale (Civil Code 5705).

Mission 2: What happens to the $350,000 loan?

Pick the right answer.

• It usually stays: the HOA lien ranks ahead only of liens recorded after its notice of delinquent assessment
• It’s wiped out, because the HOA foreclosed first

Your real cost is the bid plus the loan that stays.

Mission 3: When is it yours?

After a nonjudicial HOA sale in California…

• The home can be redeemed for 90 days, so don’t renovate until that period ends
• It’s mine the moment the trustee accepts my bid

Ask an attorney how the redemption price is figured before you bid.

Would you bid?

Buy, investigate or pass? Work through the drill to see what an experienced investor would weigh.