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Tag Archives: Bankruptcy Washington State

Seek Help Before Trusting Your Home Lender

As many are aware, Wells Fargo Home Loans has been accused of qualifying customers into unfavorable loans. In efforts to avoid further attention, Wells Fargo attempted to settle their debt by offering their customers money. According to Scott Reckard, in his recent article in the Los Angeles Times entitled, “Wells Fargo sends refunds to some FHA mortgage customers”, borrowers had randomly received checks via mail from their mortgage home lender Wells Fargo. At first glance, what seemed like a nice surprise, these checks came with a string attached. Stated clearly, if borrowers cashed the checks, it prohibited them from suing Wells Fargo in the future.

Reckard reported, as a way for Wells Fargo to side step further litigation over steering their customers into unfavorable home loans, an estimated 10,000 letters enclosed with checks went out to Wells Fargo Home Loan’ borrowers. These unfavorable loans were written as Wells Fargo Home Loans surged to become the No. 1 originator of loans insured by the FHA.

In his article, Reckard shared how a California resident, Eric Murillo-Angelo, received a check from Wells Fargo for $6,676.89. Enclosed with Murillo-Angelo’s check was a letter stating, “You may have qualified for a conventional conforming mortgage” instead of the FHA loan he received in 2010. Also, in large print, the letter stated, “You should understand by cashing the enclosed check, you agree to release Wells Fargo Home Loans from any and all claims relating to Wells Fargo’s origination of a more expensive mortgage loan than the loans for which you may have qualified.”

Wells Fargo Home Loan costumers faced the dilemma of either cashing their checks, or not. If they did not cash their checks, the questions they faced were what other avenues of justice they could pursue. Or, at that point, who could help them fight a large corporation like Wells Fargo. After weeks of holding onto the check and debating these questions, Murillo-Angelo cashed his check and settled paying for a loan that he could be paying far less for. In his case, he had a secure job and was economically stable enough to possibly refinance into a less expensive loan later.

Fortunately, Murillo-Angelo has options to get out of the home loan that Wells Fargo gave him. However, many others have not been so fortunate. For many, their home loans have led them into escalating debt, and for many others, they face foreclosure. These refunds checks hold little meaning to borrowers who have already lost their homes or are facing foreclosure.

There is help for borrowers who have fallen victim to lenders who share the same practices as Wells Fargo. Instead of waiting for home lenders to help, it is important for borrowers to understand that they should seek outside help before trusting their home lender. It is possible to save their homes and relieve themselves from escalating debt.

James H. Magee is a Washington bankruptcy attorney who has helped many people in Pierce, Thurston, and King Counties save their homes and get on a stable financial path. With help on how to take the next step towards financial security, it is possible to overcome poor home lending practices and refinance expensive home loans into home loans that are fair and affordable.

We Emphasize Washington State Bankruptcy Law

Welcome to The Law Offices of James H MaGee, Washington Bankruptcy Attorney

If you are in debt and are considering filing bankruptcy in the State of Washington, we have assembled a great deal of useful, free bankruptcy information for you. We recommend that you start on the bankruptcy basics page.

We offer appointments in Tacoma, Renton, Olympia, Chehalis, and Bremerton. Evening appointments are available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday by prior arrangement. Please click the link to our contact page for telephone numbers and directions to our offices.

If you have decided to proceed with bankruptcy, we have prepared a bankruptcy form that will consolidate the information necessary to file your case. Please complete the bankruptcy form and bring it with you to your consultation appointment.

In order to file your case with the Bankruptcy court, you must complete the first of two mandatory seminars. The first seminar is entitled, “ Pre-Bankruptcy Credit Counseling“. You may attend both of the seminars either on-line or via telephone. We describe both seminars for you on our site; please read the explanation and instructions on our site completely before contacting the seminar vendor.

Our site contains an easy to understand guide to the differences between the various bankruptcy chapters: Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and Chapter 11.

We understand that filing bankruptcy is a big step, and that you probably have questions about various aspects of bankruptcy. We prepared an extensive list of frequently asked questions about bankruptcy to help answer your questions about filing bankruptcy in Washington state.

Your choice of bankruptcy attorney is very important to the success of your case. We discuss the benefits of choosing the James H MaGee firm as your bankruptcy attorney on our site.

If you are a creditor with questions about how bankruptcy will affect a debt owed to you, there are creditor resources here for you.

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