Not bad advice at all. But curious from your experience: how often does a lender actually successfully foreclose and kick someone out of their primary residence?
That happens all the time.
In some States, foreclosure is a huge hassle (involving a lawsuit) for a lender, and takes years to complete. Not in Texas.
Deed-of-trust foreclosure sales are conducted in Texas on the first Tuesday of every month. Texas law requires a public posting about a month before the first Tuesday sale date, and most Texas counties of any size at all have one or more bulletin boards at a place designated by the county commissioners courts, usually near the back door of a courthouse, that will be loaded with these sale notices.
In a county of any size at all, in an inflating real estate market, it's not unusual to see a few dozen foreclosure postings every month. If the economy sours, there will be a whole lot more than a few dozen.
Some foreclosure postings do not lead to foreclosure sales, but many do.
In states like Florida, California, or New York, it can take a couple of years for a lender to move to a sale after giving whatever notice of default the particular state requires (getting to judgment in a lawsuit is necessary). In Texas, a really aggressive lender holding a promissory note secured by a vendor's lien and deed of trust (by far the most common purchase-money mortgage) can conduct a foreclosure sale within 3 or 4 months of a note going into default. No lawsuit is necessary. Texas allows nonjudicial foreclosure on typical real estate mortgages, including mortgaged homesteads.
It's not uncommon, in Texas, for a homeowner to miss a payment and lose title to the property 4 to 5 months later. It usually takes a few more months than that, but not always. Some big mortgage companies take more time than they have to, for various reasons.
Evictions in Texas can be lightening quick after a foreclosure sale. 2 or 3 weeks if the lender is in a hurry as more than a few are. Many lenders will give a homeowner 30 days to vacate as a courtesy.
Evictions in some other states, Cali being the most notorious, can take a couple of years. So it's not unreasonable for people that are not involved in the foreclosure process to assume that a homeowner has a lot of time to react to a threatened foreclosure.