Riverside County pre-foreclosure
A California foreclosure shows up as two recorded notices, a Notice of Default and then a Notice of Trustee Sale, on a clock the Civil Code sets the same way in every county. The full timeline is here. This page covers what is specific to Riverside County.
Where Riverside County records the notices
Riverside County records Notices of Default and Notices of Trustee Sale through its Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, which runs six public offices spread across the county: two in Riverside, and one each in Palm Desert, Hemet, Temecula and Blythe. Copies of any recorded document can be bought online, by mail, through a drop box or in person, at $8 for the first page and $1 for each page after, plus $2 to certify the whole document.
What the county tells the owner
Riverside tells the owner about a default directly. Since September 1, 2013 the Recorder has sent a Foreclosure and Loan Modification Advisory Letter within 30 days of a Notice of Default being recorded, telling the homeowner to be wary of foreclosure and loan modification solicitations and pointing them to free help. Since 2011 it has also sent a courtesy notice whenever a deed or deed of trust is recorded against a property, and it directs any owner who does not recognize a recording to the District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit.
The housing behind the notices
In the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, Riverside County had 869,414 homes, 69 percent of its occupied homes were lived in by their owners, the median owner-occupied home was valued at $557,300, and the median home was built in 1990. That is newer housing than San Bernardino County’s 1983 median or San Diego County’s 1980 in the same survey.
What to do differently here
In Riverside the county has already written to the owner, within a month of the Notice of Default, telling them to be wary of people who contact them about it. Expect a guarded first reaction and earn trust fast: say who you are, that the notice is a public record, and exactly what you are offering. Anything that sounds like the solicitations the county’s letter warns about will end the call.
Sources
- Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, real estate fraud (courtesy notices and the advisory letter)
- Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, obtaining record copies
- Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, locations
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024, B25077 median value
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024, B25003 tenure
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024, B25035 median year built
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024, B25002 occupancy
Last verified 2026-09-19. County offices, fees and programs change, so check the county’s own pages before you rely on a detail. General information, not legal advice.
See Riverside County pre-foreclosure property
Notices of default and trustee sale, ready to work.
See pricing