California Tenant – Foreclosure Sale Dec 15, Locked Out By Jan 8 With No Notice?

Location: Bay Area California

Hey everyone, hoping for some advice on what to do next.

I’m in the Bay Area California. I was living in a single-family home paying rent on a month to month basis. The house went through foreclosure auction in mid-December. I knew about it because a notice of trustee sale was posted on our door and was basically waiting to hear from the new owner so I could figure out a reasonable move-out timeline or what else can be done. I still had my belongings inside and was moving things out slowly. I did not abandon the place.

On Jan 8, I went by the house and found that the locks had been changed. I was never given any notice, never served anything, and never went through an eviction. My stuff was (and still is) inside from what I can see through the window but a lot of stuff is missing (hopefully not thrown away and just moved out of sight?)

I called the Sheriff’s Civil Unit and they confirmed there is no writ of possession, no eviction, and no sheriff-approved lockout for the address.

I also found a notice taped to the door saying the plumbing was winterized on 1/8, which seems like someone entered the house after locking me out.

I normally come by the house once a week to slowly move things out to our new place, but haven't visited in 2 weeks due to the holidays. But I never abandoned it. I still got a lot of stuff in there and was hoping to take my time to move out once I work things out with the new owner/landlord or whatever.

I’ve tried to figure out who the new owner is, but I’m getting bounced around. Clerk-Recorder says it’s not updated yet, Assessor says the same, bank and foreclosure trustee won’t give me the buyer’s info but say they’ll “pass along my contact info.” So far, no one has contacted me and I’m still locked out. What are my next steps?

When I spoke with the Sheriff's Civil Unit about having difficulty finding who the owner is, they said it should be posted in an eviction notice or any notice on our door on who to contact. I said I've received no notice and they simply said get a lawyer. Do I really need one? I feel I'd end up spending more and losing money for something I can simply work out with the new owner once I find out who that is.