They only had $37,000 left to go on their mortgage they’d been paying off for 25 years, but now a California family’s house is going into foreclosure.

The family says that their bank got bought out and the mortgage payment stopped auto-deducting from their account without them knowing. They worked out a repayment plan with Citibank, who confirmed to NBCLA that the first $4,000 payment was received in January. The second payment was never received, the bank says. The man says he mailed it.

Then, at the soonest possible date, Citibank moved to foreclose the house. It was sold at auction for $255,000. The family had built up $218,000 in equity.

Without money to pay for a lawyer, the father, an insurance salesman is representing himself in two lawsuits against the bank alleging illegal foreclosure.

In a statement, Citibank said:

“We work very hard to keep borrowers out of foreclosure and in their homes. We often offer borrowers who are seriously behind on their mortgage a repayment plan. If they fail to make the payments, however, the plan is cancelled.

“We attempt to contact the borrowers by mail and telephone to advise them of the plan’s status. If the account becomes delinquent due to missed repayment plan payments, we are normally unable to offer another solution. We regret we were not able to offer further options to these homeowners.”

The mortgage payment is frequently a homeowner’s highest monthly expense. It’s important to track it, especially if your bank had changed owners recently. Some folks choose to send in their mortgage payments by a method that provides a tracking number or requires a signature on delivery.

Foreclosure Hits Nearly Paid Off Home [NBCLosAngeles] (Thanks to GitEmSteveDave!)

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