I'm preparing to submit a bid on a trustee sale in Los Angeles County, California. The foreclosure was initiated by the second mortgage lender (HML) and the notice of default indicated an outstanding balance of around $300K. Through bankruptcy records (case was dismissed) I was able to learn that the balance on the first mortgage is around $350K and I understand I will be on the hook for this amount if I win. What's puzzling me though is that the notice for the trustee sale indicates a reserve price of close to $600K. Why would this be the case if the balance on the second loan is only $300K? There was a previous notice of trustee sale from 2021 that had the reserve at $300K. Looking at the title report, there are a few other smaller liens that are junior to the second. Any insight would be much appreciated.
