The Right of Redemption refers to the right of a property owner to re-acquire ownership of his or her property after it has been sold to satisfy an obligation secured by the property. This right had previously been limited to judicial foreclosures only. Starting January 1, 2006, the right was extended to non-judicial assessment lien foreclosures. Therefore, if an association sells a property by means of a nonjudicial foreclosure (a trustee's sale), the highest bidder, whether the association or a third party, acquires ownership subject to a 90-day right of redemption.

The redemption period permits the foreclosed owner to redeem the property by paying the delinquent amounts owing, plus any collection fees and costs. If the buyer of the foreclosed property incurs expenses for maintenance and repair work on the unit which were reasonably necessary for the preservation of the property, he or she can include those expenses in the redemption price.

During the 90-day redemption period, title to the property does not transfer to the highest bidder, instead, the trustee records a "Certificate of Sale" which provides public notice of the bidder's right to the property. If the delinquent owner does-not redeem the property within the 90-day period, the trustee then delivers a "Trustee's Deed Upon Sale (TDUS)" to the successful bidder with ownership transferring to the buyer. If the owner does exercise the redemption rights by paying all amounts due, a Certificate of Redemption is issued instead of a TDUS and title reverts to the property owner. This is a rare occurrence,

If the association is the successful bidder of a foreclosed property, the 90-day redemption period severely limits what it can do until the redemption period ends.

• Eviction. Since the successful bidder does not legally own the property until the end of the redemption period, the bidder does not have a right of possession and cannot evict the occupant (usually the foreclosed owner) from the property during the redemption period. After the redemption period is ended and the title. transfers, the buyer can evict anyone who is in possession of the property by means of an unlawful detainer action (An eviction lawsuit).
• Damage to the Property. If the occupant is damaging the property, the association cannot enter the property to stop the conduct of the occupant. Instead, it must immediately file a court action to enjoin the occupant from damaging the property.
• Vacant Property. If the property is vacant, the association should secure the property and if there is personal property remaining in the property, comply with the storage notice and sale of abandoned property laws. Since the foreclosed owner has a right to redeem the property, the association should not remodel the property or rent it until the redemption period has ended and right of possession has transferred to the association.