Wells Fargo Snafu Nets Maryland Homeowner a Foreclosure
July 5th, 2011
When Angela Cottrell contacted Wells Fargo about a refinance on her underwater home, she hoped to take advantage of lower interest rates, nothing more. Cottrell had not only been paying her mortgage in a timely manner but had been paying down the principal over the years as well using extra payments. However, when she asked about a re-fi, she was offered a loan modification – with lower interest rates and payments – instead. Cottrell accepted the deal, only to be told several months later that not only was she ineligible for the loan modification thanks to her level of income and timely payments, but that she owed an additional $14,000 on her house to make up the difference in her old payments and the ones she had been making or the lender would foreclose[1]. Cottrell sued Wells Fargo – the case is on appeal – and the bank ultimately opted not to foreclose but increased her loan balance by $11,000 to make up the difference. Citing customer confidentiality, Wells Fargo has refused to comment.
Wells Fargo has recently been in the news for other loan modification issues, including the U.S. Treasury’s recent decision to withhold HAMP incentives from the lender, a decision that the bank has hotly contested[2]. The bank’s own private modifications outnumber HAMP mods 5 to 1, which has also earned the lender some criticism for failure to participate effectively in the program[3].
Do you think that Wells Fargo deliberately mishandled Cottrell’s case, or is the entire mortgage-modification and foreclosure-alternative process too much for banks to handle? Should Cottrell be punished for her “good behavior” in the past by paying her mortgage by being refused a lower interest rate that a delinquency might have earned her?
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[1]http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/blog/2011/07/for_md_homeowner_a_refinance_request_gone_wrong.html
[2]http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqB1IngjWL1XYN8mkEdIdEyoiKFw?docId=7548a8febd204515a03067184bc561df
[3] http://www.housingwire.com/2011/07/01/wells-fargo-private-mods-outnumber-hamp-5-to-1
July 5th, 2011 at 8:46 AM
Wells Fargo is out to take as much property as they can. period. No intention of helping ANY homeowner.
July 5th, 2011 at 9:08 AM
HI, MY name is Ricardo Raymond and i have a silimar situation, like Angela contrell i would like to see if anyone or if there is any legal acction that can be taking agains wells fargo.
July 5th, 2011 at 9:43 AM
Banks are in a business to make money for their shareholders. She stayed behind just to get her modification done. As long as she does have job and 33% - 40% of her income goes to pay for mortgage than bank should not help her. If her income do not support above guiideline than bank should help her to lower payments. I was mortgage banker/broker and so many customer was qualified under that guideline and most them was paying their mortgages, why change now and pass this burdon to banks or FNMA.
Note: based on the descriptions of this *specific* instance, it does not appear that Ms. Cottrell was behind on her mortgage but rather was offered the modification by her lender, then rejected later after accepting the modification in lieu of refinancing.
July 5th, 2011 at 10:05 AM
Nat: It’s your failed mentality that has this country on the ropes. There is no “burden” to the Bank when in all likelihood, they had been paid 3 times already for the loan 1. the customer, 2. the secondary market and 3. TARP on the backs of the taxpayer and maybe 4 by insurance. Wells next to BoA is the biggest Bankster out there. The massive fraud by false documents has yet to be unvailed. To punish a well meaning and duped customer is the highth of hypocracy.
July 5th, 2011 at 1:11 PM
Nat: She made her payments not only on time but ahead of time. So why shouldn’t she get a refi on her mortgage? I can’t believe you are defending the banks. They are a rip off just like our government. They use our money and then give us a measly .02 a month on our money that they are using. Banks wouldn’t be in business if it wasn’t for us.
Plus there is so much fraud going on with the banks and credit card companies it is unbelievable and our government allows it. If I did what banks and credit card companies are doing I would be thrown in jail.
I was one of those people who paid my credit cards on time and most of the time more than what was asked for and what did they do but double my payments and tripled my interest rate. Where is that fair?
They are all in this together (banks and government and the Federal Reserve). Until we downsize government and quit taxing the people and quit letting people sit on their butts and collect welfare this country will never get back on its feet.
July 5th, 2011 at 5:12 PM
When the bank accepted the facts of her loan and established a contract, they should be bound by that contract, or be charged with fraud, assumeing that all of the information was factual. They should be made to deliver her a deed paid in full, not make a victim out of her.
July 5th, 2011 at 6:56 PM
Let us be fools no longer. It is as simple as this…The banks win either way..actually better when you default due to Govt. backing (which is really you and I, or anyone that pays taxes) to fulfill the obligation. When in the situation of an upside down mortgage you need to just hand them the keys..in the amount of time that it will take to “evict” you, you will have a nice nest egg put aside. We really need to get over this fear of the “Boogie Man”…the credit score ..what a joke!! When the Mortgage Bankers Association can walk away from their $79,000,000(million) purchase(Washington DC)..ooops…look that one up.. why should you have not the same option. Bottom line, don’t waste time or effort on any loan mod..you will never come out ahead!
July 7th, 2011 at 12:55 PM
All of us tax paying citizens who have money in the banks need to come together and agree to take all of our collective monies out of all the banks. Let them go belly up. We nedd to force them, the congress, the senate, the fed and washington accountable to us. After all, are not we their employer. We need to do here what is happening in the middle east, egypt and other countries. We (us taxpaying citizen)need to get together stand up and say no to all the crooks in washington, obama, bernake and others. We need to throw them all out on their on their collective asses and sue them all for misappropriations of our tax dollars, fraud and imbezzlement.