Remember my Wells Fargo problems. . .

Sherry wrote:
On May 3, 7:19 pm, "tanadashoes" wrote:
I was told the other day that the FBI is investigating "Country Wide"
mortgage company along with Wells Fargo Mortgage company. And guess why
they're being checked out. Yup, they were claiming that people weren't
making their payments when they were, and were trying to foreclose on people
without working with them on the payments.

We live in a prime area for real estate, and Wells Fargo could probably sell
the house for about $10-20,000 more than we bought it for. Need I say more?
Anyway, they really hate me because not only am I refusing to make phone
payments, but I'm sending in cashier's checks and having the payments as
certified, receipt requested. So they changed my due date for payments from
the fifth of the month to the first. Buggers.

Pam S,

Grrr. Don't get me started on mortage/finance companies. It's legal
robbery.
I sent a check to "Citizens Finance" where the (wrecked) truck was
financed, for
the payoff + some overage that we depended on getting back in order to
buy the
tag for the new truck. (It was from the insurance co.).....I got a
nasty "Dear Deadbeat, your payment is late" letter two weeks later.
Called them, and they said
they had to "HOLD" the insurance check for one month "To be sure it
clears the bank." What???? In what universe does it take 30 days to
clear a check?
BUT GET THIS. Every single day, the balance accrues interest. Plus
they charged us an $18.50 late fee. ALL THE TIME, they have the payoff
in their hot little hands.
It's robbery, I tell ya.
(Reminds me of something a comedian once said about late fees, "They
charge
you more of what you don't have in first place."
I also sent the check certified, so I know *exactly* when they got
it.
It's a shame that Wells FArgo are such crooks you have to do that
every month. It's costly.
Sherry

There was a time when a payment was LATE only when it was received after
the next statement had been mailed. (In other words, if payment is
received before your next billing date, it's on time, no matter what
date the company selects as "past due".) So far as I'm concerned, if
the payment is reflected on my next statement, it CANNOT be considered
"late", and I refuse to pay "late charges" if that happens.
(Fortunately, I usually pay my balance in full each month, so they
haven't much basis for argument.)

Apparently the practice of allowing less than a month between billing
date and "due" date (after which "late charges" apply) is coming under
scrutiny by the courts. (Maybe the mortgage scandals may have an
up-side, too?)

Jo Firey wrote:
"tanadashoes" wrote in message
m...
I was told the other day that the FBI is investigating "Country Wide"
mortgage company along with Wells Fargo Mortgage company. And guess why
they're being checked out. Yup, they were claiming that people weren't
making their payments when they were, and were trying to foreclose on
people without working with them on the payments.

We live in a prime area for real estate, and Wells Fargo could probably
sell the house for about $10-20,000 more than we bought it for. Need I
say more? Anyway, they really hate me because not only am I refusing to
make phone payments, but I'm sending in cashier's checks and having the
payments as certified, receipt requested. So they changed my due date
for payments from the fifth of the month to the first. Buggers.

Pam S,

Who ever is in charge and responsible at Country Wide, should be drawn and
quartered. Barring that, I'd consider lethal injection. Life in prison is
just too good for them.

From what I've seen personally, they are almost solely responsible for the
entire mortgage/forclosure debacle. On a par or worse than the Enron
scandle.

They spent the past five years pushing equity loans on people. And made a
fortune doing it. Then walk away when everything comes crashing down.

I've always been a big believer in personal responsibility and paying ones
debts.

But their should still be a special hell for those that make loans when
they know perfectly well the borrower will be unable to keep up with the
payments. Particular where homes and businesses are concerned.

Jo


AMEN!!!!! Along with all the lenders (and credit cards) that quote very
low "APR" percentage rates, without being sure that the borrower
understands that "APR" stands for "adjustable percentage rate", which
means that the rate can increase to whatever percentage the lender
chooses, whenever they so choose! (Some of them ARE tied in to the
initial rate for a specific length of time first, but not all of them.)

I think urging people to "take advantage" of the equity in their home
loans is immoral, too! There was a time when people invested in a home
with the idea that, by the time they retired, they'd own it free and
clear, with only taxes and upkeep to worry about. Loans were structured
to pay off in twenty-five or thirty years, with fixed monthly payments
designed to fit the purchaser's budget. Bad enough that "easy credit"
has produced a society that works on the principle that, if all the
credit cards aren't "maxed out", any desired high ticket merchandise is
still affordable. Being slow-pay on those debts may produce collection
agencies coming out of the woodwork, and marshals brandishing
garnishments for your wages, but at least you still retain a roof over
your heads!

AMEN!!!!! Along with all the lenders (and credit cards) that quote very
low "APR" percentage rates, without being sure that the borrower
understands that "APR" stands for "adjustable percentage rate", which
means that the rate can increase to whatever percentage the lender
chooses, whenever they so choose! (Some of them ARE tied in to the
initial rate for a specific length of time first, but not all of them.)

Actually, APR stands for "annual percentage rate". The rate that gets
quoted up front is a shorter-term rate. That shorter-term rate,
compounded over a year, yields the APR.

On May 3, 11:12*pm, "Jo Firey" wrote:


Who ever is in charge and responsible at Country Wide, should be drawn and
quartered. *Barring that, I'd consider lethal injection. *Life in prison is
just too good for them.

From what I've seen personally, they are almost solely responsible for the
entire mortgage/forclosure debacle. *On a par or worse than the Enron
scandle.

They spent the past five years pushing equity loans on people. *And made a
fortune doing it. *Then walk away when everything comes crashing down.

I've always been a big believer in personal responsibility and paying ones
debts.

But their should still be a special hell for those that make loans when
they know perfectly well the borrower will be unable to keep up with the
payments. *Particular where homes and businesses are concerned.

Jo

Well, yeah, it's opportunistic, it's predatory lending. But, don't you
think *some* accountability rests with the borrower? I'm not talking
about people like Pam, or the many others whose world gets turned
upside down from health issues, or job loss, etc.
There are a whole lot of people out there having homes reposessed
simply because they bought homes more expensive than what they could
afford.
I"ve always been very frugal. I watched an Oprah segment on people and
their debt, and I was simply blown away not only by the *amount* of
credit card/second mortage debt, but the things they spent their money
on!
I'm also surprised by the type of houses that are being built now. You
don't see modest, three bedroom houses like we were building in the
70s-80s in new additions
nowadays. They're all so huge!

Sherry

"Sherry" wrote in message
...
On May 3, 11:12 pm, "Jo Firey" wrote:


Who ever is in charge and responsible at Country Wide, should be drawn
and
quartered. Barring that, I'd consider lethal injection. Life in prison is
just too good for them.

From what I've seen personally, they are almost solely responsible for
the
entire mortgage/forclosure debacle. On a par or worse than the Enron
scandle.

They spent the past five years pushing equity loans on people. And made a
fortune doing it. Then walk away when everything comes crashing down.

I've always been a big believer in personal responsibility and paying
ones
debts.

But their should still be a special hell for those that make loans when
they know perfectly well the borrower will be unable to keep up with the
payments. Particular where homes and businesses are concerned.

Jo

Well, yeah, it's opportunistic, it's predatory lending. But, don't you
think *some* accountability rests with the borrower? I'm not talking
about people like Pam, or the many others whose world gets turned
upside down from health issues, or job loss, etc.
There are a whole lot of people out there having homes reposessed
simply because they bought homes more expensive than what they could
afford.
I"ve always been very frugal. I watched an Oprah segment on people and
their debt, and I was simply blown away not only by the *amount* of
credit card/second mortage debt, but the things they spent their money
on!
I'm also surprised by the type of houses that are being built now. You
don't see modest, three bedroom houses like we were building in the
70s-80s in new additions
nowadays. They're all so huge!

Sherry
\\



I still believe in personal responsibility. But what is going to happen
when a relatively young and naive couple goes to buy a house.

When you walk into a cat dealership the first thing they want to ask you is
how much can you spend a month. Now they have already shifted you maximum
car expense budget (and it was probably supposed to include insurance and
maintenance in your mind. And rather then try to put you into a car that
you can pay off in three years, they will tell you you can afford to drive
a much nicer car for that kind of money. Waffle over difference between
lease and purchase and three years down the road you owe a payback far
higher than the value of the car. Not to mention you have done nothing to
establish a credit ratting.

Same thing with a house, only they don't ask what you can afford to spend.
They find out what you earn and what you owe, tell you how to manipulate a
credit check so you will quality for a loan that is much more than you
really can afford. But how do you argue? There people who know more about
money than you do say you can afford it. They aren't really good at
explaining property tax and Mello Roos and Insurance or flood insurance.

Its pretty easy to not only spend more than you can afford, but to pay a
lot more than the property is worth because you are starting to believe
your own hype that this is doable.

Jo

"tanadashoes" wrote in message
m...
I was told the other day that the FBI is investigating "Country Wide"
mortgage company along with Wells Fargo Mortgage company. And guess why
they're being checked out. Yup, they were claiming that people weren't
making their payments when they were, and were trying to foreclose on
people without working with them on the payments.

We live in a prime area for real estate, and Wells Fargo could probably
sell the house for about $10-20,000 more than we bought it for. Need I
say more? Anyway, they really hate me because not only am I refusing to
make phone payments, but I'm sending in cashier's checks and having the
payments as certified, receipt requested. So they changed my due date for
payments from the fifth of the month to the first. Buggers.

Pam S,

Dear gawd, how awful!!! It's hard to believe that they would do something
like that now, with the market for real estate so soft. But it agrees with
my (conspiracy?) theory though, that what happened in New Orleans is now
happening elsewhere. The city of New Orleans is cooperating with large
corporations to take land away from homeowners and sell it to the
corporations so they can build "yuppie condos" and make a killing. What
they've been doing is, when owners can't fix their homes (most are still
without jobs since businesses in the area are still recovering), the city
will bulldoze the house and then charge the homeowner for it. If the
homeowner can't pay for the bulldozing, the city confiscates the home/land
and then sells it.

It's heartbreaking what's happening to our once productive and robust
country. The American dream has turned into a nightmare!

Hugs,

CatNipped

Sherry wrote:
On May 3, 11:12 pm, "Jo Firey" wrote:


They spent the past five years pushing equity loans on people. And
made a fortune doing it. Then walk away when everything comes
crashing down.

I've always been a big believer in personal responsibility and
paying ones debts.

But their should still be a special hell for those that make loans
when they know perfectly well the borrower will be unable to keep up
with the payments. Particular where homes and businesses are
concerned.

Jo

Well, yeah, it's opportunistic, it's predatory lending. But, don't you
think *some* accountability rests with the borrower? I'm not talking
about people like Pam, or the many others whose world gets turned
upside down from health issues, or job loss, etc.
There are a whole lot of people out there having homes reposessed
simply because they bought homes more expensive than what they could
afford.

AMEN! I shudder to think what would happen if my middle brother lost his
job. He already had a very nice 3 bedroom house (for 10 years) in a good
neighborhood. He lives alone; he has absolutely no need for a 5 bedroom
5000 sq. ft. house, but that's what he built 2 years ago. You'd think he
would have been more cautious since it was only about 2 years prior to that
he lost his job of over 15 years when the company relocated. (In fact, if
it weren't for a former co-worker who went out and formed his own company
then offered him a job, who knows what position he'd be in right now?)

Granted, I can't say his new house is beyond his means. Obviously he had
proceeds from the sale of his old home to put towards the new one. And I
certainly don't know what type of loan he got. But he's got a hell of a lot
of house to pay for if something unexpected happens.

Jill

*The city of New Orleans is cooperating with large
corporations to take land away from homeowners and sell it to the
corporations so they can build "yuppie condos" and make a killing. *What
they've been doing is, when owners can't fix their homes (most are still
without jobs since businesses in the area are still recovering), the city
will bulldoze the house and then charge the homeowner for it. *If the
homeowner can't pay for the bulldozing, the city confiscates the home/land
and then sells it.

It's heartbreaking what's happening to our once productive and robust
country. *The American dream has turned into a nightmare!

That is absolutely *UNBELIVABLE* and completely outrageous!!!

Helen M

"Lucys Mom" wrote in message
...


Amen to that, Jo. We looked at Countrywide when we were shopping for
loans for our house/property. Talk about a bunch of slezoids! We knew
exactly what we wanted, namely fixed 30 yr with no escrow or PMI, and they
said no problem. But when we got the quote papers, it was for an
adjustable with escrow and PMI. But they tried to hide the details in the
paperwork, hoping no doubt that we wouldn't read carefully. But we're
both engineers, so we read carefully and sent it back with a re-request
for what we had originally requested. They tried again to screw us and at
that point, we said no way. They are really a piece of work, there.

--Kim

When we signed the original documents for our house, both Rob and I read
them over carefully, even though we both felt the hot breath of all the
attorneys, clerks, and real estate agents flowing down the backs of our
necks. The attorney for the sellers informed us that we were the first
people he'd seen read their mortgage contract in a long long time. We
didn't catch any errors, but then we were prepared to throw a hissy fit if
they'd changed the conditions of the mortgage. Fortunately, everyone was
amazingly honest and hadn't done so. We're at 30 year fixed with (now) 5.5%
interest. I'm ok with that.

Pam S

On May 5, 7:32*am, "tanadashoes" wrote:
. *The attorney for the sellers informed us that we were the first
people he'd seen read their mortgage contract in a long long time.

I am amazed!!!!
Okay I rent but if I was taking out the biggest loan of my entire life
would I read the small print?...

Of course I would!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs