Missed mortgage payments do not take away your right to sell your home. Selling before a Notice of Default is recorded means no foreclosure timeline, no auction pressure, and the strongest possible negotiating position.
Whether you have equity or owe more than the home is worth, there is a clean exit — and in a short sale, the lender pays our commission.
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A few missed payments put you in the lender’s loss-mitigation pipeline, not on the auction block. But interest, late fees, and legal costs compound quickly, and every month of waiting shrinks your equity and your options. The homeowners who come out ahead are the ones who act while they still control the timeline.
I’m Nick Hedberg, founder of We Sell Houses LA. Tell us where you are — one payment behind or six — and we’ll lay out reinstatement, sale, and short-sale numbers side by side. Free, confidential, no judgment.
Yes. Being behind on mortgage payments does not take away your right to sell your Los Angeles home. As long as you sell before the lender forecloses, you keep control of the timeline, the price, and how the sale is handled, including a lender-approved short sale if the payoff comes up short.
Missed payments alone do not start the legal foreclosure clock. That begins only when the lender records a Notice of Default with Los Angeles County. Selling before a Notice of Default is filed gives you the most room to list at market price, choose your buyer, and settle any arrears out of the closing proceeds. Once a Notice of Default is on file, you can still sell, but the timeline tightens, and a short sale may need lender sign-off if the sale won’t cover the loan.
Arrears, payoff, market value, net proceeds — we put real numbers on every option in one call.
If the payment is sustainable, reinstatement or a workout may fit. If not, selling with equity — or a lender-paid short sale — beats waiting for the NOD.
Selling before a Notice of Default is recorded means no foreclosure on the public record and maximum buyer confidence.
Foreclosure filings on your record when you sell before the NOD is recorded.
Out of pocket in a short sale — the lender pays our commission.
Is all it takes to get your reinstatement, payoff, and net-proceeds numbers — free and confidential.
In Los Angeles County, foreclosure moves on a set legal timeline. Knowing where you are on that timeline tells you exactly what selling looks like right now.
Most Los Angeles homeowners have never heard of AB 2424. It is a California-specific protection, and using it early, before the trustee sale date is close, is what turns a rushed sale into a controlled one.
Mid-divorce and newly out of work, Nicole and John had run out of money to finish the projects around the house — and the foreclosure auction was almost here when they reached us. We got the auction stopped and completed their short sale with PennyMac. They walked away with a lender-paid relocation fee and no foreclosure on their credit.
Antonio called us the night before his home was set to go to auction. He had lost his job twice and couldn’t catch up on payments — and his wife and two kids were living in the house. We got the foreclosure postponed, worked with Fannie Mae, and got his short sale approved. No foreclosure on his record, and his family moved forward on their own terms.
No. You own the home, and you can sell it at any point before a completed foreclosure sale. The loan — including missed payments, late fees, and costs — is simply paid off through escrow at closing, exactly like any other sale.
In California most lenders record a Notice of Default once you are three to four months delinquent — federal rules generally require waiting until a loan is over 120 days past due. That pre-NOD period is your strongest window: no recorded foreclosure, no auction clock, full control of the timeline.
Usually yes — lenders routinely pause escalation when a documented sale is underway, and telling them starts the loss-mitigation paper trail. We handle that communication for our clients so nothing said to the servicer hurts your negotiating position.
That’s a short sale, and it’s our specialty. The lender approves a market-value sale, California’s Code of Civil Procedure §580e ends the remaining debt on approved short sales of 1–4 unit homes, and the lender pays our commission. See the full short sale process.
The late payments already on your report stay, but selling prevents the far deeper, longer-lasting damage of a completed foreclosure — and stops new delinquencies from piling on. Most homeowners see their credit begin recovering within months of closing.
You still have time — typically 110+ days before an auction could occur, plus AB 2424 postponements once the home is listed. Start with our NOD 90-day plan or call us and we’ll map your exact dates.
List with a licensed agent, or work with a direct buyer, before the lender records a Notice of Default. Get an as-is or market-price offer, open escrow, and let the sale proceeds pay off what you owe, including the missed payments. If the loan balance is more than the home will bring, that becomes a short sale, which needs the lender’s sign-off before closing.
Yes, and speed matters most in the weeks right after a missed payment, before a Notice of Default is recorded. Selling as-is to a direct buyer, or listing with an agent right away, can move faster than the foreclosure process itself. If a Notice of Default has already been recorded on your Los Angeles County property, you’re working against a 90-day clock, which makes a fast, lender-informed sale even more important.
No. You do not need your lender’s permission just to list your Los Angeles home for sale, even if you have missed payments. Lender approval only comes into play if the sale price won’t cover what you owe, which turns the deal into a short sale that needs sign-off before closing.
Not yet, and that is worth knowing before you count on it. AB 2424 only comes into play once a trustee sale date has actually been set. It will not slow down the earlier stages, but if you do reach a scheduled auction date, listing with a licensed agent under AB 2424 earns a 45-day postponement, with a second 45 days available if you go on to sign a purchase agreement.
More guides: Notice of Default plan · Sell a house in foreclosure · Short sale process · Short sale help
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