Mortgage Relief from Automatic Stay

[rupper32]

We had our 341 at the beginning of this month and everything went smoothly. In today's mail, we received notice from Wells Fargo's attorney that they are seeking motion for relief from the automatic stay. Has anyone had this happen to them? In our filing, we said that we wished to reaffirm our mortgage, but never received anything from Wells Fargo. Our other loan companies sent us paperwork however (vehicle loans).

We are 2 months behind, but I had a payment scheduled for next Friday to Wells Fargo and will be caught up by the end of August.

Can anyone offer suggestions/advice?

[AlmostAmos]

The relief from stay isn't a bad thing necessarily. It is so they can contact you regarding your loan status/catch up. I wouldn't be worried.

[rupper32]

They also tacked on $700 in attorney fees to what we owe (Wells Fargo's attorneys did this), so not only do we owe for June and July, but we owe $700 in fees as well! That's what I am stressing about! I contacted Wells directly and they told me that they will not accept payments from me, either by phone or at a local branch, because we are in active Chapter 7.

[justbroke]

We are 2 months behind, but I had a payment scheduled for next Friday to Wells Fargo and will be caught up by the end of August.

This is why they are seeking permission to foreclose (motion for relief from the automatic stay). You should never file Chapter 7 when you are in arrears on your mortgage, unless you're willing to lose the home in foreclosure. The only thing you could do is possibly work on a modification, but at this point, that relief is going to be granted because you are in default on the Note.

They also tacked on $700 in attorney fees to what we owe (Wells Fargo's attorneys did this), so not only do we owe for June and July, but we owe $700 in fees as well! That's what I am stressing about! I contacted Wells directly and they told me that they will not accept payments from me, either by phone or at a local branch, because we are in active Chapter 7.

The attorney fees are tacked on to the balance. They are not payable now. They can only accept a payment of the full amount due in order to cure the arrears which may include the 3 months you're due on now, plus any attorney fees associated with any foreclosure action.

I hope that you are doing the right thing and the home is not underwater.

[HHM]

This is par for the course if you file chapter 7 BK and are behind on mortgage. WF is well known for tacking on atty fees.

Also, just because you WANT to reaffirm, doesn't mean your bank does.

I hate to say it, but when you file BK 7 and are behind on the mortgage, you need to be emotionally and practically prepared to lose the house if the bank doesn't play ball.

[rupper32]

Here's the thing: we filed on May 24th and were not delinquent at that time. We missed June and now July's payments. We were current at the time of filing, just fell behind after that. Can the bank be so unwilling to work with us if we plan on catching up within 40 days?

[HHM]

You are still treading dangerous waters. If you can cure the arrears (plus all interest, late fees, collection fees, etc.), then you should be fine.

[Meatstick]

I will just add that we also filed Ch.7 and even though we were current at time of filing that WF filed a Relief from Stay the day after our 341. We did NOT reaffirm and selected to surrender. We are now 2 months past our 341 and still current on the mortgage and WF has accepted each and every payment we have made in-person at local branch office. All payments have been accepted and applied towards the mortgage and like I said before the loan status shows as current. About 10 days ago WF withdrew the Motion to Lift Stay and sent a notice to both of us and our attorney.

So go try and figure that one out. Seems like there is no rhyme or reasoning to what WF will do as I have seen various scenarios posted on these forums. The ONLY thing we lost from our WF accounts was the ability to pay online. We still receive updated statements every month "For Information Purposes Only".

good luck !

[angles]

Seems like there is no rhyme or reasoning to what WF will do as I have seen various scenarios posted on these forums. The ONLY thing we lost from our WF accounts was the ability to pay online. We still receive updated statements every month "For Information Purposes Only".

[SMinGA]

Actions speak louder than words.

You indicated you wanted to reaffirm and were current when you filed. Then stopped paying your mortgage... WF is going to protect their own interests, and might opt to not accept any payment unless it is payment in full. Right now that is June + July, and they may require those fees be paid as well. In 9 days, you'll also owe August. Even though its 'late' after the 15th, its still due on the 1st.

Since they are filing for the relief from the stay, you may be able to contact them and ask about modification. I don't know how easy/likely that is with WF - but could buy you time to catch up since they are likely to at least take 4-8 weeks to review you for a mod. And it would not hurt to review your state's foreclosure processes - to figure out how much time you really have to resolve this, worst case scenario...