Homeowner talks about mistakes he made to avoid foreclosure

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The smell of smoke fills John Heilfrich's swamp-like backyard.

“I loved this home and it just crushes me to lose it," Heilfrich said.

Hours away from moving out, John is burning personal documents out back, and selling everything he owns out front.

“I got here because I went through hard times, like a lot of people are going through today and I got behind and ended up in foreclosure."

The Flagler foreclosure was John's home for 17 years. The past five were spent fighting off a foreclosure.

“I'm to blame for some of the issues, but a lot of things happened,” Heilfrich said.

John had a lawyer at one point and fought with the bank about lost documents for two years, but never came to any kind of resolution. He regrets not trying to do more.

“Don't try to put it off. Don't ignore it. Don't try to wait for another day. Just settle it and get your house back and get your life back. Get through this because you don't want to lose your home,” Heilfrich said.

Even when a judge told him he had six weeks before his home would be sold at auction John did nothing.

“I mean I was pretty much paralyzed, I couldn't get going. I couldn't get this going because I was so overwhelmed about the event."

It sold in ten minutes.  Much quicker than the time it's taking him to sell everything he owns.

"It was one of the worst things I've ever been through. I mean I never thought that I could actually be living in my car."

But John says it's a cleansing process, and a fresh start.

"I wake up every morning and I look up and I think God. It's going to be a good day. It's going to get better."