Unexpected Home Foreclosure

Yesterday I discovered that our house has gone into foreclosure and will be listed for sale on 16 May 2019.

It never should have gone into foreclosure.  My husband I are separated, in lieu of child support he was going to continue paying the mortgage so that our 14 year old son and I could remain in the family home where we've lived for almost 12 years.  When he became unemployed last October and I saw the unpaid statements roll in, I contacted the mortgage company (PennyMac).  Although my name is on the deed, it is not on the mortgage, and they would not share much with me, although they did tell me that their customers could enroll in an unemployment program.  They gave me the details and I passed them along to my husband.

I know for a fact that he registered for it.  In fact, they called him after he submitted everything online, so that they could go over it with him, and then told him he was eligible for the program.  Several weeks later, still no paperwork from PennyMac.  He contacted them again, they said paperwork was coming.

Just over a week ago, my husband was stopped in TX for speeding and drunk driving.  Second offence, so he is now in jail until his court date in June.  Going through the bank records to see what the bill situation was, I saw no outgoings to PennyMac.  I even mentioned this to my mother in law.  Lo and behold, yesterday I got the bad news.  The program was not put in place.  Apparently no paperwork had ever been sent out.  And I have some big decisions to make.

I need a Power of Attorney from my husband so that PennyMac will speak to me regarding the account.  That means driving to TX this coming Sunday with the paperwork and having him sign it in front of the jail's Notary Public.  Faxing it to PennyMac.  It will take them 2-3 days to attach it to the account.  On Thursday 2 May I will finally know what is going on and what I need to do to stop the foreclosure.  When I spoke to their attorney this morning they told me that implementing the POA by the 2nd of May will still give me time to stop the foreclosure (my question to them was, is it a waste of time and money to obtain the POA?).

As a single mother, it's been difficult since the split.  I can barely keep my head above water, but somehow we are managing.  Now that this has happened, it has totally knocked everything out of the water and I find myself completely lost.  Do I let go of the family home, my garden, my workshop, our pets?  Or do I fight for it?  I want to fight for it.  But either way, I have no funds to to fight, not do I have funds to move (and a security deposit).

This is a plea for help.  At this point, before being able to discuss anything with PennyMac, I believe that the amount needed to stay in the house is $7000, calculating from the date the mortgage was last paid.  At this point, on my very limited income I cannot take loans that I then need to pay back.  My goal is to communicate with PennyMac why that unemployment program was never put in place, saving everyone from this awfulness.

My time is limited.  I need the Power of Attorney, I need to make that trip.  After that, I can figure out whether to fight or move.  This is one of the scariest things I've experienced, and the clock is ticking.