Foreclosure...Worried

[SinkingFast]

Also, John- it doesn't matter which mortgage is in default, or who owns them- the state foreclosure procedure dictates the timelines to lose your house.

This is true. Each State has it's own set of Foreclosure guidelines. You could live in a Judicial only Foreclosure State. That would take a long time. Or you could have a "Right of Sale" clause in your Mortgage Instrument. If you do, then the Foreclosure could move very quickly.

The first thing that will happen is you will get a letter notifying you that you are in Default and a Notice to Accelerate. Basically that letter means "Pay up or else!". Generally you're given 30 days from the date of that letter before anything serious would happen.

Then your loan would have to be transferred to the Foreclosure Dept. That's when you would start receiving Certified Letters from a Law Firm hired to act as Trustee of the Sale. That's generally what happens, but not always. Some States merely require a notice be placed in the newspaper.

Whether or not the Lender moves to Foreclose will also depend on the number/$$'s of REO properties they are carrying on the balance sheet right now. Real Estate Owned properties are Foreclosures that are being held by the Lender and haven't been sold yet. Too many REO properties does not look good to prospective investors. So even tho you're behind, Citi may not move to do anything until they are ready.

From the time you get the notice of Default and Acceleration, you're looking at about 2.5-3 months, minimum, before the actual Foreclosure sale, generally speaking. So, you should be safe to figure on staying in your home until the end of school.