El Centro, CA / Foreclosure
Can I Sell My El Centro House in Foreclosure?
If a trustee's sale is scheduled, tell us the date right away so we can try to close before it.
Yes. You may still be able to sell before the public trustee's auction if the sale has not happened and the payoff, title work, and closing can be completed in time. An offer by itself does not change the trustee's date. California home loans commonly use a deed of trust, so many mortgage foreclosures proceed through a trustee without a lawsuit.
We buy houses as-is in El Centro and across Imperial County, California. Call 888-274-5006 any time, or send the property address through the form.
We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.
We give written cash offers in 24 hours.
Share the property address and the notice or sale date you have.
How we help you work toward closing
We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us. We buy in El Centro and throughout Imperial County. You see the written offer and written terms before you commit, and a title company handles the closing.
When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including the county documentary transfer tax and any city transfer tax. Your mortgage payoff, liens, back taxes, and share of current property taxes are separate amounts that the title company reviews for the closing.
You don't need to pay off your back taxes before we settle. We buy houses with back taxes and liens — payoffs get handled through the closing, not by you upfront.
Which sale is involved?
Mortgage foreclosure: trustee's sale
In a typical California nonjudicial mortgage foreclosure, the trustee records a notice of default. After a 90-day period to catch up, a notice of sale can follow; it must be posted, published, and recorded at least 20 days before the public auction called a trustee's sale. You can usually reinstate by catching up until five business days before the sale, or pay off the loan up to the sale itself. There is no right of redemption after a nonjudicial trustee's sale. Your notices and the current payoff control the dates and figures for your property.
A trustee may postpone a sale under the rules that apply to the case. For a one-to-four-unit home, California law also allows limited 45-day postponements tied to a broker listing and a qualifying purchase agreement. Do not assume a postponement applies or that the sale date has changed; confirm the current date with the trustee or lender.
A county property-tax sale is different from a mortgage trustee's sale. Imperial County handles delinquent property-tax matters and public auctions of tax-defaulted property through its Treasurer–Tax Collector. Each process has its own notices and dates, so follow the notice for your matter and do not apply mortgage deadlines to a tax-sale notice.
If the payoff is the problem
Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before.
Ask the lender for a current payoff, then have the title company review the title and closing figures. Any lender decision depends on the lender, property, and situation.
What happens next
- Contact us with the property address and any notice or trustee-sale date you have.
- We review the house as-is and provide written offer terms before you commit.
- If you choose to proceed, a title company reviews title, the payoff, liens, and closing figures with you.
- The title company coordinates closing if the required payoff, title work, and timing allow it.
It's real estate. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. We won't disappear when that happens, and we'll be fighting to get this to the closing table.
Imperial County offices and tax-sale information
If your notice concerns delinquent property taxes, contact the Imperial County Treasurer–Tax Collector for its tax-collector services and public-auction information. Use the dates and contact instructions on your own notice; these tax-sale dates are separate from a mortgage trustee-sale timeline. The County's Tax Collector contact page lists the office contact information.
For Imperial County recording services and documents that affect property title, see the County Clerk-Recorder's services. Recorded documents are not a substitute for confirming a trustee-sale date with the trustee.
Questions and contact
Compare possible sale proceeds
Use your own estimated value and payoff to compare possible net proceeds. The calculator is a planning estimate, not a property-specific offer or payoff statement.
Estimate possible sale proceeds with the El Centro calculator →Questions about selling before foreclosure in El Centro, CA
Can I sell my El Centro house before a trustee's sale?
You may be able to sell before the trustee's sale if the payoff, title work, and closing can be completed in time. An offer or agreement alone does not change the scheduled date. If a trustee's sale is scheduled, tell us the date right away so we can try to close before it.
What deadlines apply to a California mortgage foreclosure?
In a typical nonjudicial home-loan foreclosure, a notice of sale can follow a 90-day cure period after the notice of default and must be posted, published, and recorded at least 20 days before the sale. You can usually reinstate by catching up through five business days before the sale, or pay off the loan up to the sale itself. Confirm the dates and payoff for your property with the trustee or lender.
Is an Imperial County property-tax sale the same as a mortgage foreclosure?
No. A mortgage foreclosure handled through a deed-of-trust trustee and a county sale for delinquent property taxes are separate processes with separate notices and deadlines. Do not use the mortgage timeline for a tax-sale notice; contact the Imperial County Treasurer–Tax Collector and follow the notice for that matter.
What if my mortgage payoff is more than my El Centro house is worth?
Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before. Ask the lender for a current payoff and have title review the property-specific figures; what a lender will accept depends on that lender and situation.
Do I need to pay back taxes before selling to you?
You don't need to pay off your back taxes before we settle. We buy houses with back taxes and liens — payoffs get handled through the closing, not by you upfront. Mortgage payoffs and your share of current property taxes are separate amounts reviewed for the closing.
What closing costs do you pay?
When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including the county documentary transfer tax and any city transfer tax. Your mortgage payoff, liens, back taxes, and share of current property taxes are separate amounts.
What sellers say about USA Home Buyers
Talk through the foreclosure date
Call 888-274-5006 or send the El Centro property address and the notice or date you have.
We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.
We give written cash offers in 24 hours.
Share the property address and the payoff or sale information you have.