A notice of trustee sale is the formal notice that your home is scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction on a set date. It is used in non-judicial states like Texas and California. You still own the home until the sale happens, and you may still be able to stop or postpone it.
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Getting a paper with an auction date on it is frightening. Take a breath: there is usually still time to act, and this page walks you through exactly what that notice means.
It means your lender has asked the trustee named in your deed of trust to sell the home at a public auction, and the trustee has set a date, time, and place. It is the last major notice before a non-judicial foreclosure sale.
You may also see it called a notice of sale, notice of foreclosure sale, or, in Texas, a notice of substitute trustee's sale. A "substitute trustee" is simply the person or law firm the lender appointed to run the sale in place of the trustee named in your original papers. The meaning is the same.
This notice usually comes after earlier steps, such as a breach letter and, in some states, a notice of default. If you are not sure whether your state forecloses through the courts or through a trustee, see judicial vs. non-judicial foreclosure.
It depends on your state. Here are two of the busiest foreclosure states as examples:
| Texas | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Law | Prop. Code §51.002 | Civ. Code §2924f and §2924g |
| Minimum notice before sale | At least 21 days | At least 20 days |
| How notice is given | Posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and sent to you by certified mail | Posted in a public place and on the property, published weekly for three weeks, and recorded |
| Earlier required notice | Notice of default with at least 20 days to cure (§51.002(d)) | Notice of default recorded at least 3 months before (§2924) |
| When sales happen | First Tuesday of the month, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., usually at the county courthouse | Date and place listed in the notice |
Other non-judicial states set their own rules, so check your state's statute or ask a housing counselor.
Often, yes, but the window gets smaller every day. Common ways homeowners stop or delay a trustee sale include:
For more options on a short deadline, read how to stop a foreclosure auction.
Yes. Sales are postponed often, usually because the lender asks for it while it reviews a help application or talks with you about a payoff.
In California, a sale can be postponed one or more times, but if the postponements add up to more than 365 days from the original date, a new notice of sale is required (Civ. Code §2924g(c)). In Texas, sales only happen on the first Tuesday of the month, so a sale that does not go forward is generally reset for a later month with a new 21-day notice.
A postponement is not a cancellation. Keep working on your plan as if the new date is firm, and get any agreement to postpone in writing.
If you think a sale has been set but you have not seen the notice, you can usually find it yourself:
Also check the mail carefully. Certified-mail notices are easy to miss if no one is home to sign.
If the sale goes forward, the highest bidder, or the lender if no one outbids it, gets a trustee's deed. You no longer own the home, and the new owner can start the legal process to take possession. Read eviction after foreclosure to learn how that works.
If the home sells for more than what is owed, the extra money, called surplus funds, may belong to you. See our guide to surplus funds after an auction.
Sources (checked 2026-09-26):
It is the notice that your home will be sold at auction on the first Tuesday of a coming month. Under Texas Property Code §51.002, it must be posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and mailed to you by certified mail at least 21 days before the sale.
It is the notice that sets the auction date after a notice of default. Under Civil Code §2924f, it must be posted, published, and recorded at least 20 days before the sale. You can generally reinstate the loan until five business days before the sale.
It means the lender replaced the original trustee with a new one, often a law firm, to handle the sale. It is still a notice that your home is scheduled for auction, with the same rights and deadlines.
Usually, yes. You own the home until the sale happens, so you can sell it and use the money to pay off the loan. Make sure the closing can happen before the sale date, and tell the trustee and servicer about the pending sale in writing.
Yes. It is filed or recorded with the county and often posted or published. That is why homeowners often get letters and calls from investors after the notice goes out.
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