May 7 is etched in Violet Djukic's memory.

That's the day a sheriff's deputy came to her family's two-story home on a pleasant tree-shaded street in Crown Point with an orange posting reading "eviction notice" in bold black letters.

She immediately called her husband, Sasa, who was at his job at the Ford Stamping Plant in Chicago Heights.

They were both shocked. Lender Countrywide Financial had told them the sale of their home at sheriff's auction would be postponed so they could renegotiate their mortgage.

"They had said be patient, it takes a while, hold onto your money," Sasa Djukic said on Monday as he gathered up the last of the home's furnishings and put them in the back of his sport utility vehicle.

In fact, Lake County Superior Court records showed the home had been sold at the Lake County sheriff's sale April 4 for a bid of $156,307. Countrywide had foreclosed on the Djukics when they fell behind on mortgage payments.

On Monday, the family of four loaded the last of their household belongings into the SUV, including their 6-year-old son's Lego blocks. They took their last look around the two-story home where their little boys had gone from crawling to walking to playing ball in the yard.

When sheriff's Lt. Roy Garrett, a locksmith and Realtor Betty Richmond showed up for Tuesday's 11:30 a.m. eviction, the Djukics were gone.

The Djukics are among millions of homeowners who fell into some stage of default or foreclosure in the past two years when they fell behind on payments, according to figures from RealtyTrac.

Government rescue plans like one passed Wednesday in the U.S. House and Saturday in the Senate have arrived too late for them.

Another effort at rescuing troubled lenders called HOPE NOW, announced last fall by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, did them little good.

In fact, critics say that program, largely voluntary, failed to do anything for most homeowners facing foreclosure.

A report issued in February by attorneys general from 11 states showed only three out of 10 seriously delinquent borrowers were even talking to lenders about renegotiating loans.

It pointed out widespread confusion among lenders and borrowers as to how HOPE NOW is suppose to work.

"We are seeing the devastating results of these reckless lending practices," said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

Countrywide's new owner, Bank of America, did not respond to requests for comments last week. Neither did the Indianapolis law firm that represented Countrywide in the foreclosure.

Richmond confirmed the Djukics' account of last-minute confusion between Countrywide and the law firm that led to the April sheriff's sale.

The Realtor said so far, she sees very few home loans being renegotiated and homes saved. The loose lending practices of the past 10 years, including adjustable rate mortgages and flimsy income verifications, put many borrowers in over their heads.

She now is marketing the Djukics' home for Fannie Mae, the federal mortgage giant that had guaranteed Countrywide's mortgage.

"It's that American Dream to own your own home," she said last week. "But often people don't know what they are taking on."

The Djukics' dream came true in December 2001, when they closed on their home on 95th Avenue on the north side of Crown Point. They paid $132,000.

Four years later, they began to have trouble making the $1,400 per month mortgage, tax and insurance payments due monthly to Countrywide. Some layoff periods at the Ford plant and medical bills made the problem worse.

Countrywide moved to foreclose on the Djukics two years ago. The Djukics did what experts recommend -- they negotiated with Countrywide for a way to make payments.

Countrywide responded by offering successively more onerous repayment plans, Sasa Djukic said. The last one requiring the Djukics to pay $2,700 per month for nine months, which was almost twice their regular mortgage payment.

For three months, he paid it out of his weekly take-home pay of $3,300 per month and then fell behind again.

In March 2007, Countrywide was granted a decree of foreclosure in Lake County Superior Court.

"We were set up to fail," Sasa Djukic said.