Consumer complaint received 2017-09-20
Product: Mortgage — Other type of mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (SC)

In XX/XX/XXXXI had to file for bankruptcy due to the XXXX medical needs of my daughter. My daughter XXXX is a former XXXX and surviving XXXX who was born at a mere XXXX XXXX weighing XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX of a pound  ). She is a XXXX XXXX child with XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX in her XXXX and XXXX as well as the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on her XXXX XXXX. The XXXX XXXX XXXX will require no less than 5 very XXXX XXXX to begin to correct her XXXX XXXX XXXX and the XXXX XXXX. Our only other choice is XXXX. She has had multiple other XXXX as well and requires a multitude of XXXX XXXX XXXX. I had/have been inundated with medical bills in amounts far more that I could have ever imagined, thus the need to file for bankruptcy several years ago. 

Unfortunately, my wife was also diagnosed with XXXX XXXX earlier in the year and has been through XXXX and XXXX, which made our already difficult lives even harder. To try to create a better lifestyle for my family and lower cost of living, I searched for work outside of the NY/NJ area. This is where my ordeal with Wells Fargo begins : After filing for the aforementioned bankruptcy, I negotiated a loan modification with Wells Fargo on my home mortgage. I was not able to reaffirm the original mortgage and it was discharged in the bankruptcy. In good faith I negotiated a loan modification. I had tried for more than a year prior to work with Wells on a modification, but they refused. It was only when I retained a lawyer to assist in the negotiation process that they would work with me. It was lengthy and confusing process, but the only way Wells told me I could hold onto my home at the time. Included in the modification documents was a secondary lien by HUD. I never once spoke with a representative from HUD during this process, only with Wells Fargo. I never once received any documentation related to the HUD lien other than what was buried in the reams of modification paperwork. No statements, no balances, nothing mentioned from Wells Fargo, absolutely zero in the 3 years since the modification was signed. 

Prior to considering the previously mentioned change of employment and move, I called Wells Fargo to obtain a pay-off balance for my mortgage. This call took place sometime between mid-XX/XX/XXXX and mid-XX/XX/XXXX. I do not recall the specific individual I spoke to. Wells quoted me a payoff balance of approximately {$450000.00} on my primary mortgage and approximately {$23000.00} on my HUD balance. I asked more than once if they were sure and they told me yes. I even made a second phone call in the weeks that followed to re-check and was given the same info. They also provided this same erroneous information to my real estate attorney, XXXX XXXX, in the middle of XX/XX/XXXX, as we were preparing to close on the sale of our property. XXXX XXXX ordered the final payoff balances from Wells and from HUD. We received the final payoff balances on XX/XX/XXXX, the day prior to our scheduled closing date. The Wells balance came in as expected. The HUD balance however, came in at approximately {$120000.00}. This discrepancy put me upside down on my home. Wells has confirmed, via listening to the recordings of the conversations, that they indeed did give me the wrong pay-off information, but claim no responsibility for the consequences of their error. The attached letter from them confirms their admission of wrongdoing while denying any resulting liability. They also refuse to provide me with copies of the recordings or even a transcript. They have informed me that the only way I can obtain this information is via a lawsuit and subpoena, which they know from my financial situation that I can not afford to do. 

This false information set off a chain of events in which I accepted a job in another state, sunk money into my existing home to prepare it for sale, listed my home for sale and found a buyer, and paid movers and uprooted my family. The day prior to my closing, after all of the aforementioned steps had been taken, I got the correct payoff balance from HUD with the discrepancy of more than {$100000.00} from the erroneous information that Wells had originally quoted me. This HUD balance, combined with the original loan balance, was more than my home is currently worth and I can not sell it. Now I am in a terrible situation where I am working in another state and renting a home for my family. I can not afford to pay both the rent and the mortgage, nor do I have the means to come up with the short balance to satisfy both the loans. I sunk the majority of my savings into fixing up the home for sale and moving, expecting to get those monies back from the closing. Needless to say, had Wells Fargo not admittedly provided me with the wrong information, I would never have proceeded down this path. 

At this point my choices are a short sale or to walk away and have the home foreclosed upon. Both of those options come with their own complications, risks and consequences. 

Because of the delay coming literally a day prior to closing, my original buyer has backed out of the deal. I will have trouble getting the same kind of offer in a short sale process. My real estate agent has also informed me that the house now being vacant and the utilities being switched off will further hurt the value. This will exacerbate the short balance. Wells Fargo has already informed me that they will issue me a XXXX for any short balance. This will create a huge tax liability for me. I am not even sure this is legal considering the loan was written off in bankruptcy proceedings and never reaffirmed. HUD has already informed me that they will not accept anything less than the full balance of the secondary lien from the home modification, and that if Wells Fargo does not agree to absorb the full shortfall, I risk action by HUD, including negative reporting on my credit. As a professional in the XXXX XXXX, and kind of negative credit reporting would have to be disclosed on my XXXX license. This will undoubtedly have an adverse effect on my career and employment/earnings potential. 


My questions are as follows : 1. I never dealt with HUD in any manner, never receiving statements or correspondence from them. I only ever dealt with Wells, responsibly reaching out to them to obtain information prior to making any decisions. Based on the above, what recourse do I have against Wells Fargo for them providing me incorrect payoff information on more than 1 occasion? They admitted to their error in writing and told me they arent even allowed to give HUD payoff information to begin with, yet they did. How can they currently claim no responsibility? 

2. I spent approximately {$25000.00} in fixing up my home and preparing it for sale. This represented a large portion of my savings, savings I am in need of to take care of my XXXX XXXX daughter and my XXXX wife. I did so with the belief that this money would come back to me when we closed upon the house. I carefully calculated the investment and return based on the payoff balances that were quoted to me by Wells. I wasnt aware that the balances quoted to me were erroneous. Now, I will never receive those monies back. I would have never put money into the home in that manner if I knew I couldnt get it back out. This crushes me financially. What is my recourse? 

3. Wells claims that the short sale or foreclosure will not go on my credit report in any manner because the loan was written off in bankruptcy and never reconfirmed. I have worked diligently to raise my credit since my bankruptcy and any further marks on my credit report will undoubtedly harm my ability to earn and find future work within the XXXX XXXX that I have been a part of for more than 20 years now. How do I obtain assurances that Wells will hold true to their word? They have already provided me with false and misleading information and I can not trust them. 

4. Wells tells me that they will issue me a XXXX for any short balance from a short sale. This will create a tax burden for me. How is this legal considering the loan was discharged in bankruptcy and never reconfirmed? I no longer have any responsibility to that loan. How is this possible? 

I am reaching out for help in what my rights and options are at this point as I feel Wells Fargo has admittedly misled me and caused me further financial harm. I believe they are using their financial strength to bully me and impose their will. The bank is rife with deceitful practices and prey on their clientele. This is evidenced all over the news. It is organizations like yours that provide me my only hope at fair treatment. I have attached as much accompanying documentation as I could in reference to the loan modification and what has been told to me in writing by Wells. 

Thank you for your consideration. 




Sincerely, XXXX XXXX