Sacramento CA – According to the Philadelphia Inquirer [1], Patrick Rodgers of West Philadelphia was able to "file a foreclosure action against Wells Fargo.
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I bet there are a lot of homeowners facing foreclosure that would love to do the same thing. You work so hard to negotiate a reasonable loan modification in order to keep your home.
But, no one at the lender seems to care. It seems the big lenders are able to live in a protective bubble. They can foreclose on paid off homes and face no consequences.
If they average American did that, they would probably face jail time. So, it's nice to finally see someone turn the tables on a lender.
Here is the story according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
It's not clear how this story will turn out, but right now Patrick Rodgers is living a pay-back fantasy probably shared by millions of struggling U.S. homeowners.
Frustrated by a dispute with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and by his inability to get answers to questions, the West Philadelphia homeowner took the mortgage company to court last fall.
When Wells Fargo still didn't respond, Rodgers got a $1,000 default judgment against it for failing to answer his formal questions, as required by a federal law called the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
And when the mortgage company didn't pay - does something sound familiar? - Rodgers turned to Philadelphia's sheriff.
The result: At least for the moment, the contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, 1341 N. Delaware Ave., are scheduled for sheriff's sale on March 4 to satisfy the judgment and pay about $200 for court and sheriff's costs.
Rodgers has even written his own headline: "Philadelphia homeowner 'forecloses' on Wells Fargo."
Has he really? Not quite. But Rodgers, who lives in the city's Wynnefield Heights section, won at least a momentary upper hand in a fight with Wells Fargo that began nearly two years ago.
Before you leap to conclusions, let's get a few things straight.
Rodgers isn't unemployed, or a deadbeat. He's a music promoter who owns Dancing Ferret Concerts - if industrial, electronic, or goth is your sound, maybe you've been to one of his gigs. He says he's paid all he owes under the terms of his seven-year-old mortgage.
And there's no reason to think that Rodgers' house is "underwater" - worth less than he owes, in banker jargon that has sadly entered Americans' everyday lexicon.
Actually, it was the value of Rodgers' home that apparently sparked the dispute - not what he paid, or what it would fetch if he wanted to move, but what it would cost to fully restore the house if, say, it was struck by a meteorite and burned to the ground.
Rodgers owns a three-story, six-bedroom Tudor on a beautiful street not far from City Avenue. He paid about $180,000 for it in 2002, and for years handled his mortgage without dispute.
But in mid-2009, his insurer delivered troubling news: His homeowners premium would more than double, because Wells Fargo was insisting that he insure the home's full replacement value - about $1 million worth of coverage, the insurer told him.
Rodgers loves his home, neighborhood, and adopted city - he moved here about 17 years ago, after growing up as a child of American parents in the Bahamas.
But he knew that he paid a fraction of what his home would command elsewhere, such as across City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd. That's one advantage of living, as he says, "a short clip away from the wrong side of the tracks."
In such situations, most lenders require a homeowner to insure for a total approximating a home's market value - a good thing for large swaths of Philadelphia, where a home's market value may have little relation to what it would cost to rebuild stone by stone or feature by feature.
All in all, I think it's a great story. I'm sure a lot of homeowners fantasize about doing the same thing. Thinking about a short sale?
I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another penny. Send me an e-mail at 3hayes@sbcglobal.net. I will contact you for a free consultation.
When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call me at 530-306-3316
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Thinking about a loan modification? Our Sacramento loan modification kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. Click here to request a copy.
Thanks for reading this, John J Hayes.
John J is a Real Estate Agent at RE/MAX Gold.
Phone: 530-306-3316. 3hayes@sbcglobal.net.
"Hard Work and Dedication"
View My homes for sale at www.johnhayesrealestate.com.
John Hayes specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Sacramento California. Sacramento Loan Modification Help, Sacramento Short Sales. Sacramento Short Sale Realtor. Sacramento CA Short Sales. Sacramento Realtor.
Copyright 2010 SFI Marketing Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This is not intended as legal, technical, or tax advice. Please speak with a licensed professional before making any decision. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed as of the date of writing. The views expressed here are John J Hayes's personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX Gold.
References
1. http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-15/business/28536236_1_mortgage-fees-full-replacement-value-default-judgment
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