A home in Fontana's 92335 ZIP code went to trustee sale on July 7, 2026. The sale was not deemed final until August 25, 49 days later. The winning bidder was listed as a prospective owner-occupant.
This is how California trustee sales have worked since SB 1079 reshaped the process in 2020, and the rules change again on January 1, 2027. On September 18, 2026, Governor Newsom signed AB 1957 (Pacheco), which became Chapter 279 of the Statutes of 2026. The new law removes prospective owner-occupants from the definition of an eligible bidder. We reviewed San Bernardino County's 2026 entries in the California Attorney General's eligible-bidder database. That category accounts for nearly all of them.
The sale that isn't finished when the auction ends
Civil Code section 2924m applies to trustee sales of one-to-four-unit residential property. It gives certain eligible bidders a chance to bid after the auction. Under the current text, the timeline runs like this:
- Day 0. The trustee sale is held and a last and highest bid is recorded.
- By 5 p.m. on day 15. An eligible bidder must deliver either a qualifying bid or a nonbinding written notice of intent to bid. If nobody does, the sale becomes final after 15 days.
- By 5 p.m. on day 45. If a notice of intent was filed, the qualifying bid can arrive through this deadline. A bid received on the last day must come by certified mail or a qualifying tracked overnight courier.
- Matching versus exceeding. An eligible tenant buyer can match the auction's last and highest bid. Other eligible bidders have to beat it.
Fortra Law says that if any deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day. While the window is open, title stays with the borrower. When a notice of intent has been filed, the trustee's deed can relate back to the auction date if it is recorded within 60 calendar days. The ordinary period is 21 days.
There is one exception to this clock. A prospective owner-occupant who is the last and highest bidder at the auction itself gets a final sale once the usual section 2924h conditions are met. That bidder must deliver the required affidavit at the sale or by 5 p.m. the next business day. The affidavit commits the buyer to move in as a primary resident within 60 days after the trustee's deed is recorded and to stay at least one year, subject to statutory exclusions.
What the San Bernardino County records show
The Attorney General publishes a searchable list of trustee sales won by eligible bidders. These are the 2026 San Bernardino County entries our research located. They come from a page-by-page review, so treat them as the records found rather than a certified complete count.
| City | Trustee sale | Deemed final | Days between | Bidder category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colton 92324 | Jan. 6 | Feb. 24 | 49 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Victorville 92395, 13037 Sunset Canyon Way | Jan. 7 | Feb. 24 | 48 | Nonprofit, United Family Homes Foundation |
| Big Bear City 92314 | Mar. 3 | Jul. 6 | 125 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Twentynine Palms 92277 | Mar. 3 | Apr. 20 | 48 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Chino 91710 | Mar. 17 | May 4 | 48 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Landers 92285 | Mar. 24 | Mar. 24 | 0 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Fontana 92336 | Apr. 6 | May 21 | 45 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Green Valley Lake 92341 | Apr. 14 | May 5 | 21 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Victorville 92395 | Apr. 20 | Jun. 5 | 46 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Morongo Valley 92256 | Jun. 23 | Aug. 13 | 51 | Prospective owner-occupant |
| Fontana 92335 | Jul. 7 | Aug. 25 | 49 | Prospective owner-occupant |
Ten of the 11 winners were prospective owner-occupants. The records list categories and dates. They do not say whether a winner bid at the auction or afterward. Landers was final the same day it sold, which fits an owner-occupant winning at the auction. Most of the others were final 45 to 51 days after the sale, close to the statute's 45-day bid window. Big Bear City took 125 days, far longer than that window, and the records do not say why.
The pattern holds across the county, from Chino and Fontana in the valley to Victorville in the High Desert and Twentynine Palms, Landers, and Morongo Valley in the Morongo Basin. The dataset has no eligible tenant buyers from San Bernardino County. One nonprofit appears once.
What AB 1957 removes, and what stays
The post-sale process continues after January 1, 2027, in narrower form. An eligible bidder will be either an eligible tenant bidder or an eligible community bidder. In its September 23, 2026 analysis of the bill, Fortra Law said the prospective owner-occupant category "had become a major point of contention because it created an avenue for investors to enter the process after the public auction under the guise of buying the property to occupy it."
The other changes narrow the process further:
- First liens only. For community bidders, the property must have four or fewer units and be sold under a first-lien deed of trust or mortgage. Junior-lien sales leave the section 2924m process entirely.
- Tougher nonprofit tests. A nonprofit must hold 501(c)(3) status, have its principal place of business and its board members in California, list affordable housing in California as a primary activity, be in good standing with the Attorney General's Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, and meet Government Code section 65863.11.
- Tenant bidder conditions. On the sale date, the property must have had a valid certificate of occupancy and no red tag or substandard-building violation that blocks occupancy. Its fair market value must be at or below the FHA loan limit for its metropolitan area. The tenant needs an arm's-length lease that predates the notice of default and must agree to a one-year deed restriction.
- A penalty for ineligible bids. Enforcing agencies can seek a civil penalty equal to one-third of the property's fair market value.
Cities, counties, and other public agencies stay on the list of eligible community bidders. San Bernardino County's 2026 records show no city winning a bid.
What changes for bidders on January 1
Apply the new rules to the table above. Ten of the 11 winners were in the category that leaves the eligible-bidder definition. The remaining routes are tenant bidders, who face new documentation and value limits, and community bidders, who face stricter qualification tests. Neither route produced a San Bernardino County winner in the records we found, apart from one nonprofit.
For an investor who wins at auction, that should mean fewer weeks spent waiting to learn whether someone will outbid them after the fact. Fortra's analysis expects "more buyers should have a reason to show up at the auction" because investors who don't qualify as tenant or community bidders will have to compete at the public sale. That is a projection. The 2027 results will show whether auction-day competition in Fontana or Victorville actually changes.
The post-sale window can move the price a long way. Fortra describes one HOA assessment foreclosure, Bird Rock Home Mortgage, LLC v. Breaking Ground, LP. The high bid at the auction was $60,000, and a $203,000 bid during the extended period took the trustee's deed.
Why this matters more as REO volume rises
Statewide, more foreclosures are ending with the lender taking the property. ATTOM's statewide counts for August 2026 show 589 completed foreclosures, or REOs, in California, compared with 343 in August 2025. Foreclosure starts barely changed over the same period, at 2,565 versus 2,558. ATTOM does not publish San Bernardino County counts in these releases, so these are statewide figures. ATTOM also says overall foreclosure activity is still below pre-pandemic norms.
Auction.com's Q2 2026 report gives more detail on supply. Nationally, completed foreclosure auctions on FHA-insured loans rose 47% from a year earlier. Loans originated in 2022 or later made up 45% of completed foreclosure auction volume. Buyers at foreclosure auctions paid an average of 66.5% of estimated retail value. Those buyers will get more certainty after the auction starting in January. The bigger difference will come from bidding with a full price discipline on auction day, because waiting for a second look will rarely be an option.
Questions bidders are asking
Do the new rules apply to a sale held in December 2026? AB 1957 takes effect January 1, 2027. Sales held before that date proceed under the current section 2924m. For a sale whose 45-day window runs past January 1, ask the trustee and an attorney how the change applies.
Can I still win as an owner-occupant at the auction itself? The current rules give an owner-occupant who wins at the sale immediate finality. AB 1957 removes owner-occupants from the eligible-bidder definition, so starting in 2027 they bid at the public auction like everyone else. Have a real estate attorney confirm how this applies to a specific sale.
Where can I check whether a past sale went to an eligible bidder? The Attorney General's Reported Residential Foreclosure Sales to Eligible Bidders page can be searched by county, city, ZIP code, and bidder category. The full text of AB 1957 is posted on the Legislature's site.
Whether you are bidding on San Bernardino County trustee sales before or after January 1, or you own a home that has received a notice of default, The Vasquez Group works with lender-owned and HUD inventory every day, in English and Spanish. Call us to go over a specific property and timeline, or get your free home valuation to see where your equity stands before a sale date is set.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
