Consumer complaint received 2023-01-22
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: IL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Good morning. XX/XX/XXXX I purchased a XXXX XXXX HUD property for $ XXXX in the XXXX neighborhood. We tore the property down to the studs and did an extensive rehab. I thought this property would increase in value and help pay for my daughters college tuition 15 years later. In the sub-prime mortgage crisis of XXXX - overnight - I was underwater on the building. The property value plummeted from XXXX to less than a XXXX. From XXXX, every good faith effort I made to sell or refinance the property was rebuffed by Wells Fargo XXXX We attempted a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, short sale and had several cash offers which for a variety of reasons/excuses were denied by Wells Fargo. The property gradually slipped into crushing debt when my tenants stopped paying rent- when I put the property up for sale -and refused to vacate the property. My wife and I were left with few options other than to file a XXXX XXXX  to consolidate and pay off all our debts. 
For a period of five years my wage was garnished $ XXXX. Recently, we made 100 % restitution and paid off all our debts. XXXX For the past 30 months we have been seeking to come to terms with Wells Fargo to close on a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on this property. We have presented six contracts that for a variety of reasons we have been unable to get to the table. 
Most recently, we presented a cash offer ( XXXX ) on the Home Path portal in the amount of $ XXXX which was under review. This year, I have spent over $ XXXX to correct building code violations ( replace rear porch, reconvert basement ) because Wells Fargo wont close on a deed-in-lieu with a dirty tittle. 
Monday XX/XX/XXXX, I met XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) at the property to review his work on the basement deconversion. To our surprise, the property was padlocked and my keys no longer worked. I called Wells Fargo and was informed the property had been actively foreclosed on XX/XX/XXXX and all further questions should be referred to your law office. 
Friday XX/XX/XXXX I spoke with XXXX from your firm. I explained that myself, my Realtor and my Attorney had not been notified of an active foreclosure date on the property. In the past, foreclosure sale dates had been postponed pending review of all contracts. She informed me that all communication from your office was being sent to my Attorney, XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Il. XXXX ). She said that her law office would not contact me personally once I had an attorney of record. I explained that XXXX XXXX had been replaced by a new Attorney, XXXX XXXX XXXX, in XXXX of XXXX. XXXX encouraged me to fax documentation that XXXX XXXX XXXX was currently the attorney of record and a copy of the pending contract. She said that she would discuss it with XXXX XXXX 's at her firm and encouraged me to have my Attorney, XXXX XXXX XXXX call the law office directly. I grant permission for XXXX XXXX to speak with attorneys at XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
These are the numbers that have been provided to me : XXXX XXXX XXXX ( O ) XXXX. ( F ) XXXX Wells Fargo ( O ) XXXX I have enclosed the pending contract and documentation that Wells Fargo authorized XXXX XXXX as the attorney of record. Also, in the past, I have received correspondence from XXXX XXXX XXXX that was sent to my home address. I have spent XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX making improvements on this property since XX/XX/XXXX. Like many other investors, I suffered greatly when the property value plummeted 50 % in XXXX. I have been in constant communication with my home preservation specialist - XXXX XXXX XXXX - from Wells Fargo on a monthly basis. We have cooperated to the best of our ability to provide documentation that would move these transactions forward. I am not sure why no-one from my team was informed ( in writing ) of this active foreclosure date until XX/XX/XXXX. I am desperately trying to avoid the devastating impact a foreclosure will have on my credit report and taxes. What can be done to resurrect this deal and get this cash offer to the table. 
Thank you for your help and cooperation with this matter. 

Over the past 36 months, I have spoken to countless individuals at Wells Fargo ; everyone has been pleasant but no one has taken ownership to get a deal to the table. Wells Fargo has demanded an insatiable amount of redundant paper work, inspections, appraisals and documentation without results. I am trying to avoid a foreclosure or having to file a XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX. The chronic stress of this process has taken an enormous toll on my finances, marriage and health. I want to move on and close this chapter in my life. Wont you please help me accomplish that goal? 
An anonymous Wells Fargo employee informed me that my account had been tagged as a " strategic default ''. Therefore, Wells Fargo had no intention of allowing me to sell the property. Wells Fargo knew that my income was high enough that it was more lucrative to allow the property to slide into foreclosure. Foreclosure allowed Wells Fargo to claw back the entire amount of the property along with interest and attorney 's fees. Wells Fargo was NEVER negotiating with me in good faith. The judgement value was {$190000.00}. 
This foreclosure was devastating and almost cost me my job, marriage, health and credit. It was mentally, physically and emotionally draining. I have never dealt with a company such as Wells Fargo that collectively did nothing to help their customer. The problem was systemic, devious, egregious and corporate wide.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation