Late in 2007 my husband and I were just getting used to the fact that a baby would be joining us in a few months! We were driving to his cousin’s house for dinner, we were a bit early so we went to look at the model homes in that subdivision and of course we loved them! The developer was offering all kinds of incentives to purchase and a Wells Fargo loan officer asked us all of 5 questions and printed out an approval letter on the spot. We left with a stack of paperwork and we thought it over and decided to go for it. A huge step up from our little 1,000 sq ft fixer upper but this was the home were we would raise our children and it had a magnificent cabinet filled, light filled kitchen which certainly was icing on the cake 
Fast forward to 2012…..2 kids later, the housing market had crashed and was still steadily declining, the home we owed $355,000 on was now worth $160,000. I became a WAHM and my husband closed his business and took on another job, we, like many could not afford a $355,000 home any more. We could’ve bought a home identical to ours down the street for $160,000, this would have been ideal. I discussed this with Wells Fargo Home Preservation Specialists to no avail, it was like talking to a tape recorder on repeat, why could I not find a human with the ability to comprehend the fact that if they foreclosed on our home the most they could sell it for would be $160,000? Why not save themselves the hassle and rewrite our note? The real reason it’s hard for people to modify is that the bank who pretends to own your loan often doesn’t even own it anymore. Read this…http://mortgagecomplianceinvestigators.com/education-resources/should-i-modify
After 2 failed modification attempts, lost paperwork, a Home preservationists who quit and left our file in limbo with no one to return my calls, I received a Trustee Sale Notice. Panic set in….Then I saw a post by my friend Bradley via Facebook, he worked for an organization that assisted homeowners who were in similar situations. A Not for Profit organization called “Real Estate Settlement Resources”, I sent him an email at bradley@re-sr.org, explaining my situation and telling him I had gotten all the way to the office of the President at Wells Fargo, which by the way if you need to reach him, his fax # is 866 278 1179. Very nice guy but I still did not receive a principal reduction because the final decision is up to FNMA!
Bradley checked our loan and confirmed Fannie Mae claimed to own the note, we checked County Records online and found NO assignment of our note to FNMA had been recorded, so now what? We talked on the phone for about an hour or so and he told me to write a letter or call the Trustee and he gave me very specific things to say and write including reference to a court case Ibanez v. Wells Fargo in which the MA Supreme Court Ruled the Trustee wrongfully foreclosed on Ibanez because the Chain of Title had been broken.
See Chart > http://www.scribd.com/doc/108619689/MCI-s-RMBS-non-MERS-Do-Did-Flowchart
Filled with a renewed sense of hope and an arsenal of UCC articles and Court Cases and State Specific Statues to quote I wrote a letter, faxed it to the Trustee, Wells Fargo (Office of the President) and FNMA headquarters in Washington D.C. The next day I called to follow up and make sure all parties received my letter, it was like the Three Stooges….Wells Fargo “We can’t do anything until we talk with FNMA”, The Trustee “We can’t do anything until we hear from Wells Fargo.” then finally I snapped and said the magic words to the Trustee “Excuse me but what does the loan servicer have to do with Chain of Title? You have a fiduciary duty to ME, the homeowner to make sure Chain of Title was not broken, if you do not I will contest the sale and file a motion for wrongful foreclosure against your firm.” At this point the heavens opened up and sunshine lit up the kitchen, the gentleman on the other end of the phone put me on hold and came back 3 minutes later saying “Yes you are correct, we can’t proceed with the sale of your property.” they postponed the date for 90 days to research the Chain of Title.
2 days later a representative from FNMA directly called me to apologize for my run around with Wells Fargo and promised to work with me on a principal reduction or agreeable modification solution, he gave me a toll free number to reach their Mortgage Help Center directly and bypass Wells Fargo 866 442 8574 .
Amazing what a difference it makes when the person on the other end of the phone knows you mean business and knows they may not have the right to take your home because in their haste to buy and sell paper they did not follow the legal procedure. Now they want to help me and hopefully if you or anyone you know is going through something similar you will contact Bradley (bradley@re-sr.org) and get some resolution.
RESR works with Mortgage Compliance Investigators and uses its products. MCI is a licensed Private Investigation firm, has an A-rating with the BBB and has created reports used successfully in 33 states and counting, and is the ONLY “auditing company” that can PROVE where GSE loans (Fannie/Freddie/Ginnie) are located.Check out the Educational Resources Tab on the MCI website for more helpful information and this link for updated charts that illustrate Chain of Title http://www.scribd.com/MCInvestigators.
Now I can breathe a sigh of relief and get back to doing what I love, making some Sweet Box Treats for you!
