How to Get Wells Fargo Mortgage Help

If you're a Wells Fargo customer having trouble making your mortgage payments, like millions of other desperate Americans at the moment, don't freeze up in despair. The most important thing you can do is contact Wells Fargo -- and quickly. Lenders want to give their borrowers assistance and advice so, forget your embarrassment, your despair and your fear of losing your home, and get on the phone. Each lender has a different policy when it comes to helping its borrowers and if you're a Wells Fargo customer this is what you can expect by way of assistance from them.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Wells Fargo is very clear about what a mortgage customer should do if they're at risk of missing a payment.
   "The sooner a customer notifies us of a problem, the more options we'll have available to help," the bank says.
   "Homeowners should begin by calling us and expressing their interest in keeping their home; the sooner a homeowner reaches us, the more options we have to find a solution. Timing is critical for borrowers facing financial difficulty."

2. Customers should contact the appropriate Wells Fargo office:
   Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Customer Service: [phone]
   Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ARM Reset Help: [phone]
   Wells Fargo Financial: [phone]
   Wells Fargo Home Equity: [phone]
   The customer's most recent statement or payment coupon provides the best information about which number to call.

3. Wells Fargo says that the troubled borrower can prepare for the call by gathering income and expense documentation including pay stubs, household bills such as utility and telephone bills, grocery expenses, transportation costs and any other required expenses that the household must meet each month such as school fees or college tuition payments.
   Additionally, customers need to know their loan number, which is listed on their monthly statement.
   "This helps us understand the customer's complete financial picture," the bank says, adding that, even if the customer is too depressed and panicked to gather all the information they should still get on the phone.
   "The most important thing is to call," Wells Fargo says.

4. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage says it has a number of options available to help customers facing financial difficulties and, which will gladden every homeowners heart, only uses foreclosure as a very last resort.
   "We make every attempt within the confines of investor requirements to develop an individualized solution that helps our customers get through a difficult time so they can stay in their homes," the bank says.

5. One Wells Fargo option that may be offered to troubled borrowers is a "Repayment Plan."
   "A repayment plan is one of the more common solutions we employ for customers in default," the bank says. "It is a plan that allows the customer to cure the delinquency over time, while still making their regular mortgage payments."

6. Another option that may be available is called a "Loan Modification."
   "Customers in default may also be given an option to modify their current loan," Wells Fargo says.
   "A loan modification changes one or more terms of the original note, such as the interest rate or unpaid principal balance. A loan modification brings a delinquent account current because the past due interest and escrow are added to the unpaid principal balance, which is then re-amortized over the new terms."

7. Another possible Wells Fargo option is "Partial Claim" of "Claim Advance."
   "For some customers who have loans insured by HUD or a private mortgage insurance company, a partial claim or claim advance may also be an option," the bank says.
   "In this situation, HUD or the mortgage insurer would advance funds to reinstate all or part of the past-due payments and the customer would sign a note to HUD or the mortgage insurer for the amount of the advance. The note can sometimes be secured by a subordinate lien on the home.
   "The borrower would resume regular payments on the loan and is responsible for payment of the note to the insurer. Oftentimes, repayment of the note isn't required until the time that the mortgage is paid off, thus not increasing the borrower's monthly mortgage payment."

8. If you want to put it all behind you, a further option from Wells Fargo is the "Short Sale."
   "A short sale can be considered for borrowers who wish to sell their home," the bank says.
   "The proceeds of the sale are used to pay off the mortgage. Any amounts still remaining due on the loan may be waived.
   "This option is generally available when market conditions place the home' s value at an amount less than the total amount owed and resulting sale proceeds are short of total amount owed to pay off the mortgage obligation."

9. And yet another option for the beleaguered borrower is the "Deed-in-lieu."
   "A deed-in-lieu is an option that allows the borrower to voluntarily transfer the property back to the investor rather than foreclosing on the property," Wells Fargo explains.
   "This is based on investor approval and determined based on the reason for hardship. In some cases, a borrower may be required to contribute funds to facilitate this transaction. It may also be required that the borrower list the property on the market at fair market value to attempt to liquidate the property prior to acceptance of a deed-in-lieu."

10. Wells Fargo says it will not usually accept partial payments of money owed.
    "Unless the customer has a partial payment agreement in place with our loss mitigation department, we cannot accept partial payments," the bank explains.
    "Without a prior arrangement, if a partial payment is received, the funds are deposited in a holding account known as suspense. The funds will remain in the suspense account and the loan is not credited until additional funds are received to make the full mortgage payment."

11. Wells Fargo says they are always willing to work with customers and are able to provide help to a majority of those in trouble with payments.
    "We will be able to help most customers, but not all," the bank says.
    "For example, if the loan they have with our company is sold to investors, we look for solutions that align with the customer's financial circumstances while respecting the contract requirements that we have with investors.
    "Customers should continue to stay in touch with us to see if new solutions become available that might work for their situation.
    "As our economy and interest rates continue to change, solutions may be available today that were not available a month ago.

12. Wells Fargo says the process of offering mortgage help does not differ much for either a homeowner who is missing a regular payment or a homeowner whose mortgage is about to reset.
    "Borrowers only need to make sure they contact the correct Wells Fargo customer service team," the bank says.
    Again, those numbers are:
    Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Customer Service: [phone]
    Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ARM Reset Help: [phone]

13. Wells Fargo says there are generally no fees associated with a particular workout option for borrowers, but that this can vary based on individual cases.
    "Fees that may already exist on the loan -- for example, attorney fees for a foreclosure -- must be dealt with in some fashion through that particular workout option," the bank says.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the number of a Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved counseling agency handy since they offer many free services that could help you. Call [phone] or TDD [phone] for the housing counseling agency nearest you.
• NeighborWorks America is a great place to bounce ideas off non biased credit counselors (link below)
• Make sure any credit counselors you talk to work for a HUD-approved organization.
• Beware of anyone who offers to buy your home offering to "help" you buy it back later.
• Avoid offers of mortgage help that require a payment for counseling and other help.
• Don't sell your home without first talking to your lender.
• Bankruptcy is a last resort when dealing with your financial problems because it will damage your credit record for at least seven years.

Resources

• Wells Fargo Payment Help website
• HUD
• NeighborWorks America
• HopeNow

[cantcatchup]

on 5/21/2009 OMG...I thought it was just me. Why can't they just lover the interest rate. They would still get the loan repaid and not end up with property that they don't want.

[fedupwithwf]

on 5/3/2009 WELLS FARGO is beyond a NIGHTMARE! We have been dealing with WFHM for one year trying to get their help with a loan modification. To only receive a letter dated 4-26-09 saying that they will not approve a modification because we have not sent them the requested information. We have sent them certified letters and COUNTLESS faxes containing hardship letters, budgets, paystubs, tax returns, plus documentions for most of my conversation with them dating back to June of 2008. They've told me: they haven't received it, even though I have a certified receipt from the post office and every fax log. We've heard we can't help you because your not late, you make too much money, you don't make enough money, we don't have your docs.... etc. etc. We have been an A customer, never late, with a high credit score. We unfortunaly got stuck in the housing crisis with a house that would not s...

[tabeam]

on 4/28/2009 Wells Fargo has been nothing but a nightmare for us! We called them BEFORE we were late and told them we weren't going to be able to make our payment. They said they couldn't help us because we weren't in default. Then we were 15 days late, called them, no help because we weren't 30 days late. Then 30 days late, no help because we weren't 90 days late. Then they finally told us if we made 3 payments, we would qualify for a modification. We borrowed money to make the payments, then when the time came, the told us that we just proved we could make our payments and didn't qualify for a modification! What kind of help is this? We felt like we were strung along and lied to. We don't want to lose our home and called them before we were even late to see what our options were. They were no help...

[spikester]

on 4/16/2009 WELLS FARGO IS A FAKE!!!!i have been trying to get them to redo my loan for 9 months, and today they asked for yet another (4) " submited loan plan " i have sent them everything they have asked for a yet still back at square one.i have not had a job since dec. 2007 my wife has had 3 pay cuts in 2 years and now with myself working again (full time) sale date on my house set in two weeks and as soon as i got my first payroll check send the stub along with "submitted loan plan" #3. that was a week ago. and now start all over again! WELLS IS A JOKE !!i have 10k in income tax return and verified income again, and they dont want it!! sure but they got the bailout money and now 3 BILLION profit something really smells bad, and its coming from the guys and gals riding the stagecoach!!!!!

[tarinat]

on 4/7/2009 I've had the same problem. They are a horrible company. They told me not to worry about making payments while they were working on modifying my loan. They finally decided that I had to pay an extra $750 per month for 9 months to catch up on what I owe. If I can't pay my regular payment how can I come up with more money. They don't care about their customers.