Anyone familiar with California HOA foreclosures?

[Shireen Y.]

If a property owned free and clear is sold at an HOA foreclosure auction, which law (SB1079 or Cal. Civ. Code 5715) applies?

For SB1079, a prospective owner-occupant can bid on the property post-sale and win the auction within a 45-day period. For Cal. Civ. Code 5715, the homeowner has 90 days post-sale to redeem the property. Which law applies in the case where an HOA organization is foreclosing the property? No one seems to have the answer to this. The trustee says they "cannot provide legal advice".

[Ryan Fox]

@Shireen Y.- Yeah so Civil Code section 5715 applies to a situation where the homeowner is trying to pay off the debt to the HOA and redeem his / her interest in the property.

SB1079 is codified at Civil Code section 2924m.  That code section, as you point out, allows a "prospective owner-occupant" to become owner if they submit a higher bid within 45 days after the sale.  There's nothing preventing the former owner from qualifying as the prospective owner-occupant as long as they meet the strict guidelines for being a prospective owner-occupant as set forth in Civil Code 2924m(a)(1).  That code section states:

(1) “Prospective owner-occupant” means a natural person who presents to the trustee an affidavit or declaration, pursuant to Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, that:
(A) They will occupy the property as their primary residence within 60 days of the trustee's deed being recorded.
(B) They will maintain their occupancy for at least one year.
(C) They are not any of the following:
(i) The mortgagor or trustor.
(ii) The child, spouse, or parent of the mortgagor or trustor.
(iii) The grantor of a living trust that was named in the title to the property when the notice of default was recorded.
(iv) An employee, officer, or member of the mortgagor or trustor.
(v) A person with an ownership interest in the mortgagor, unless the mortgagor is a publicly traded company.
(D) They are not acting as the agent of any other person or entity in purchasing the real property.