After a Notice of Default is recorded, a borrower has 90 days to bring the loan current. If the loan is not current at the end of the 90 day period, the lender can then schedule an auction sale date.
The scheduled sale date must be at least 21 days after the expiriation of the 90 day default period.
As soon as the sale date is set, the lender must record a Notice of Sale with the County Recorder, and publish the sale information in a newspaper of "general circulation".
A Notice of Sale is a public record. Anyone searching the county's public records, or following a newspaper that publishs notices, can find it. Foreclosure data companies such as RETRAN, REDLOC, REALTY TRAC, and many others republish and sell these public records daily.