It's not the Hurricane Irma relief two local families expected after their bank postponed mortgage payments for three months. Both thought the payments would come due at the end of their loan, but they said Wells Fargo wants it all paid back or the families could face foreclosure.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Days after Irma pounded Central Florida, many lenders offered mortgage relief, saying homeowners could delay payments for three months to cover immediate repair bills.
Kristian Collazo called Wells Fargo to apply after the hurricane toppled 12 trees o his property.
“Did it make a difference?” asked Action 9's Todd Ulrich.
“Absolutely. Not having to pay that monthly expense definitely helped,” Collazo said.
Wells Fargo told him missed payments would be added at the end of his mortgage.
“Everything was going to be placed on the back end,” said Collazo.
But after 90 days, he received a notice from Wells Fargo that stated he had to pay the more than $6,000 or his loan would be considered delinquent.
Sandy Kirby, of Mount Dora, said Wells Fargo is demanding she pay back her mortgage relief immediately or face serious consequences.
“Well, I was, like, ‘Oh my gosh, how am I going to pay that back?’ It put me in stress,” said Kirby.
Action 9 reviewed mortgage relief rules in federal disaster areas. According to federal regulators, the lender can't charge late fees or demand repayment all at once.
“I would expect the bank to go back and look at the regulations,” said real estate attorney Karen Wonsetler. She said the rules ban full payment demands after 90 days, “The federal regulations allow up to 12 months and a payment plan,” she said.
Wells Fargo told Ulrich that it is reviewing both complaints. Officials with the bank said they contact each customer after 90 days to discuss their needs and payment plans.
The company said the customers are not facing foreclosure threats, and they will have time to repay the mortgage relief.
Not all mortgages allow repayment at the end of the loan. Experts suggest asking your lender to review the mortgage documents.
Full response from Wells Fargo:
"We have reached out to the Collazos to discuss their situation and are pleased that we have been able to identify an option that will provide the extended payment assistance that they need. We have also reached out to the Kirbys to discuss their situation and the extended payment options available through their investor, and are awaiting their return call.
It is very important that customers keep us apprised of their situation throughout the 90-day relief period to help us determine if they are able to resume making their payments or need longer term payment assistance.
When customers fail to keep us updated, we are obligated to follow the delinquency path as required by federal regulations and the investor guidelines on their loan. This path includes mailing written correspondence notifying them of the delinquent status of their loan and any potential action if they fail to bring the loan current.
Also, payment deferrals are not available across all investors. To be clear, payment deferrals are an option whereby the missed principal and interest payments are added to the end of the current loan term. Lenders are only able to offer this as a disaster assistance option if it is allowed under the investor’s guidelines,"
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