THIS JUST IN.........
New Foreclosure Moratorium for All Wells Fargo & Wachovia Mortgage Loans
Today, Congress requested that all servicers institute a moratorium on foreclosures until details of Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner's foreclosure prevention plan are finalized and available - likely within a couple of weeks.
Wells Fargo has agreed to follow this practice for all of the mortgage loans they own - in other words, those loans that do not require investor approval. They also are talking with investors in an effort to gain their agreement to follow this practice as well.
Key Points:
- Within the next couple of weeks, Secretary of Treasury Geithner is expected to announce his foreclosure prevention plan.
- Until that point, Wells Fargo will not proceed with foreclosure sales on any of the loans that they own (including Wachovia Pick-a-Payment loans).
- As CEO John Stumpf stated in his testimony today, the vast majority of the mortgage loans Wells Fargo services are owned by other investors (including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). Because they are bound by contractual agreements with these loans, they must work with the loan investors to determine how they will support the moratorium request.
Questions & Answers:
How will customers know if their loan qualifies for the moratorium? Those borrowers who are scheduled to go to foreclosure sale will need to contact the phone number on their statements to determine if their sale can be stopped.
How long will the moratorium last? They do not have an exact end date for this yet, as it is contingent on when the Secretary's plan is announced and they can determine how to move forward. Customers scheduled for foreclosure sale to contact Wells Fargo once the Secretary's announcement appears in the news, and they will provide additional guidance.
How long until we know if loan investors will support this initiative? Wells Fargo is holding these discussions and hope to have an answer soon.
Does this apply to all customers, even if they have contacted Wells Fargo before? It applies to all mortgage loans that they own that are scheduled for foreclosure sale. This includes customers who may have contacted Wells Fargo before.
|
