Jack,
Ten years ago I got a notice of default from Bofa trying to foreclose on my home. I'm still here.
You can fight back and at least gain some time to figure things out. It's not easy, in fact it's probably harder than paying the mortgage but it's not impossible.
First off try not to panic, easier said than done of course but you need your wits right now. Not making payments and losing your home is not an immediate forgone conclusion because there are various laws involved.
You said you have until February 24 to stay in your house. Unless a foreclosure sale has already taken place you have a lot more time than that. Here's a link to foreclosure help in your state.
Under
federal mortgage servicing laws, in most cases, by the time a mortgage payment is 45 days’ delinquent, the servicer must appoint personnel to help the borrower with loss mitigation. (Servicers also have to inform borrowers about available loss mitigation options in writing and over the phone, if possible and appropriate.)
Specifically, the servicer must assign a single person or a team that’s accessible to the borrower by phone, who can respond to inquiries and work with the borrower through the loss mitigation process. The appointed personnel must be able to advise the borrower about:
- available loss mitigation programs
- how to submit a complete loss mitigation application
- the status of a submitted loss mitigation application
- how to make an appeal (if the application is denied), and
- the circumstances when the servicer may refer the account to foreclosure. (To get an overview of how foreclosure works in your state and find links to articles covering state foreclosure procedures, see our Key Aspects of State Foreclosure Law: 50-State Chart.)
You can also buy time by challenging whether they followed foreclosure procedure or you can challenge the servicing of your loan by sending a notice of error under RESPA. If sent the notice more than seven day before a sale they can't more forward until responding.
You can also file a complaint with the CFPB. It won't necessarily stop a sale but its likely to make them more amenable to working with you.
Find information and tools to submit a consumer complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
www.consumerfinance.gov
These are all kind of off the top of my head because I don't know much about you situation and there are so many ways of approaching a foreclosure. Hope it gives you some ideas. Free Willy's advice about a roommate might be a good idea.