If you have researched recently online about ways to set aside a foreclosure sale, you most likely came across the Lost Promissory Note lawsuit. The basic gist of this type of lawsuit is that if the lender cannot produce the original Promissory Note that you signed, then they don’t have the power to foreclose on your house, and you now own the property free and clear. The old adage, “if it sounds too good to be true…” was invented for this type of situation. Be very wary of anyone making such representations to you.

In California, the lender is not required to produce a Promissory Note to conduct a non-judicial foreclosure (also known as a “Trustee’s Sale.”) Instead, the power of sale comes from the Deed of Trust, not the Promissory Note. If in your foreclosure defense reading you come across some case citation which supports setting aside a foreclosure sale based on a Lost Promissory Note, the first thing you should do is check the issuing court’s jurisdiction (for example, the case cited was a New York Bankruptcy Court Decision), and understand that the laws of courts in other states and jurisdictions do not apply to California courts and are not authoritative.

If you want to look for other ways to set aside a foreclosure sale, then your best bet for finding grounds is to look for fraud and/or some violation of predatory lending law.