I have decided to share my foreclosure
experiences with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage/Fannie Mae. This
decision was not made lightly. I am a private person and I
value my independence. Since I began this horrific journey to
save my home I have become aware of the terrible pain and
suffering of fellow Americans in the same situation. In my
neighborhood block two families I know of have gone down
recently; I suspect there are more. Unlike the very wealthy
and the financial services community, the 99% are often
paralyzed with shame when they can't pay their bills. They
can't turn towards a government owned by the rich to get a
bailout like the 1%. The plight of foreclosed Americans is
largely ignored by the current administration and
corporate-controlled news media. It is in this environment
that I chose to witness and push back for those who have been
beaten and battered by the banks into submission and thrown
into the streets like trash.
I have advanced degrees and fifteen years'
experience in banking, as well as successful service in
publishing and software startups. I was seen as an innovator
in credit products development and marketing. I thought I was
on my way to achieving the "American Dream." I did all the
right things: saved to the maximum in 401ks and IRAs;
resisted the impulse to buy more real estate than I could
afford; and have never really indulged in luxury living
although there were times when I could have easily afforded
it. I had a fear, like my grandmother who lived through the
Great Depression, of ending my life poor and vulnerable.
I am also a human rights and environmetal
activist. My own career as a human rights activist began
early in high school when I went down South to register voters
and support the struggle of blacks for equality. I’ve never
stopped working and advocating for working class, poor, and
disadvantaged citizens. I’m was a Great Society Democrat and,
unfortunately, the Great Society was dismantled in part by a
Democrat. Democrats also ended prudent regulation of
financial institutions. I’d love to see the Party rededicated
to the ideals and goals I grew up with. I will work to that
end until I die with or without the Party machinery. I think
both political parties have been bought by corporations and
the wealthy and no longer represent the needs of the majority
of Americans.
My journey into the dark regions of
Foreclosure and the cynical manipulations of the mortgage
bankers began with a letter to the President of Wells Fargo
Home Mortgage, Michael Heid. I naively believed a petition
letter from a former banker to a banker might provide me with
individual attention and, perhaps, compassion. With this
letter I enclosed a letter of explanation and my resume. I
send resumes to all my creditors soliciting consulting work in
payment for debts.
LETTER TO MR. HEID
Mr. Michael Heid
President
Wells
Fargo Home Mortgage
420
Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
San Francisco, CA 94104
RE: Loan Number xxxxxx9395
Dear
Mr. Heid,
I’m
writing to request your help
and guidance. I have a
mortgage loan
with your institution.
Severe
health and finance-related
issues have made it impossible for me to continue to pay the
loan as
structured. Details
of the history and
issues involved appear on the attached backgrounder; a quick
overview below.
My
health is in steady decline,
the result of years combating AIDS and a meningitis infection
that left me with
all major organs damaged. I
had to learn
to walk all over again. Now
I am facing
another side effect of these life-threating illnesses: Charcot arthropathy,
which destroys the
joints in my feet and may require partial or full amputation.
All
these medical problems, along
with losses in my investment portfolio, have decimated my
savings. I have had to
pay for my own health
insurance, copays, and related expenses, for the past eleven
years. Monthly
insurance costs alone reached
$3,000. The
three-month stay in hospital
for meningitis in 2007 as well as rehabilitation expenses and
installation of
electric chairs to enable me to go up and down steps were far
from
inexpensive. The crash in 2008 took
another 40% from
savings.
I’ve
worked hard all my life;
always paid my debts; and never received assistance from
anyone. I paid my way,
and received scholarships, for
college and graduate school.
My last
position was in banking with Providian Financial. As SVP of product
development and fee-based
services I created value for my company for over ten years. When I had money I
bought a reasonable
home. I drive a
ten-year-old
Toyota. Always
contributed the maximum
to my 401K and other savings.
I did
everything one is supposed to do. I
never believed that I might be thrown out on the streets,
aging and infirm,
without the means to end my life with dignity in my home. This is a nightmare, not
the American dream I
thought I had fulfilled.
I’m
not looking for charity and
certainly not pity. I
seek a solution
that will enable my partner of 32 years and I to live out our
remaining years
in our home. The
alternative is
difficult to contemplate. We
have no
place to go. Relatives
are dead or
unable to accommodate us. We
could very
well end up homeless. I
would rather
face death in my home than the shame, pain and sheer horror of
one without a
home.
My
home is not “under
water.” I purchased
before the
bubble. There should
be at least
$200,000 and closer to $400,000 in equity available. The interest rate is
6.250%. A reduction in
rate and a “reverse” mortgage
might offer one solution. Neither
my
partner nor I will ever see 70, so your payout liability would
be short: insurance
morbidity tables will support this
assertion.
Finally,
I deeply desire to be
productive, solve problems, and generate additional income. My only income now is
Social Security. Although
my physical health is poor my mind
is still powerful and sharp. I’ve
been a
first-tier contributor all my life, and I’m certain I can
still offer
innovative, extraordinary performance in a home-based
consulting position. I’ve
attached my resume. I
also have a couple of excellent business
ideas. Had cash not
run out I think I
could have had a successful launch.
Thank
you in advance for your
time and consideration Mr. Heid.
Sincerely,
Henry
E Kielarowski
PS: I find phone conversation
difficult because
meningitis diminished my hearing range.
I communicate, therefore, almost solely via email and
social
networks:
-----------------------. I
can also arrange video conferencing.
Mr. Michael Heid. No, that's not a pony tail.
LETTER OF EXPLANATION
When I purchased ------------ I was fully
employed at
Providian Financial Corporation and put 20% down as the initial
payment. I have paid on
this mortgage for nearly 15
years, and was 30 days late only once when I was in hospital in a
coma. After I was forced
to leave my position in
2001 due to the combined effects of HIV drugs and the disease
itself I
continued to keep all my debts current using investments from my
401K, stock
options and other savings. I
had to pay
for my own medical insurance and copays and that cost me up to
$4,000 per
month. I looked for work
that might be
available to a disabled man and managed to develop some consulting
business. My health,
however, continued to deteriorate
over time depleting more of my savings.
A brief overview and timeline:
· 1995 diagnosed with HIV infection; partner hospitalized with
AIDS-related
illness;
· 1996 began treatment with experimental
antiretrovirals with severe side effects;
· 1997-2001 progressive deterioration of
health,
including lypodistrophy, liver damage, heart disease, kidney
disease,
neuropathy of the feet, fatigue and gastrointestinal problems –
all related to HIV
and drugs used to treat it; diagnosed
with
AIDS.
· 2004 developed pancreatitis and other
markers
indicating alarming side effects;
· 2005 all HIV medications discontinued due
to
life-threatening interactions;
· 2007 contracted bacterial meningitis and
sepsis; on life support
and in a coma
for three months and suffered three heart attacks, kidney failure
and damage,
development of type 2 diabetes, and other significant damage to
body; unable to
walk or even sit up in bed.
· 2007-2009 rehabilitation at home; got
back on my
feet and started walking again.
· 2012 developed Charcot Arthropathy in
both feet,
a progressive disease that creates joint dislocations, fractures
and
deformities that cripples over time and can lead to amputation. My mobility is now restricted
and I must wear
supportive brace shoes to get about; I have escalator chairs
installed in my
Home to access all floors.
All medical expenses, until I began to receive
Medicare Coverage in
2010, were out-of- pocket
including
rehab and mobility devices.
In 2008 during the financial “crisis” I lost
around 40% of
my investments/savings.
These relentless medical crises and the loss of
investment
income have created a perfect storm for me financially. I’ve made mortgage and other
payments for as
long as I could – perhaps too long – in hopes that one of my
business plans
would receive investor backing. A
severe
infection relating to the Charcot foot pretty much incapacitated
me since the
beginning of the year.
I’m 65. My
partner is
60. Our home is the last
asset we
have. Many of the programs
you offer for
those wanting to avoid foreclosure seem to be designed for
homeowners “under
water” who wish to liquidate quickly and gracefully and expect to
walk away
with nothing. In a
reasonable market,
however, our home should be worth between $200-400K above what we
owe. Short sales and in
lieu of are financial
suicide, and a forced sale would produce similar results.
Were I 50 again and healthy I would sell out
and move
on. I am an intelligent
and resourceful
person. My partner and I, however, are without financial resources
and job
prospects. We literally
have nowhere to
go. And we both are
disabled by AIDS.
Possibly the worst nightmare for an American is
to be old,
poor, sick and without a home. This
is
the prospect my partner and I face.
It
is natural for me to resist eviction.
Our home has been refurbished to enable me to live without
assistance: that includes
wheel chair
access if needed and escalator chairs on all the stairs. Our home is within walking
distance of
grocery and other essential stores.
Our
home is in a safe neighborhood so that if I become more vulnerable
I will not
be the easy target of predators. I
am
near the sea that I passionately love.
Thus, I am requesting a loan restructure from
WFHM/Freddie
Mac that will enable us to stay In our home for the near future,
and would
provide us the opportunity to liquidate if necessary when the
housing market
improves.
Our finances are now stable and we both have
medical
insurance. We have a total
gross monthly
income of $----------- with total monthly expenses-------. The income is from Social
Security and SSI. In
addition, both my partner and I have registered for work-at-home
programs
approved by Social Security. They
generally
pay minimum wage, but two disabled people putting in 20+ hours a
week
can make a noticeable difference.
Expenses are tight
but flexible.
What I am proposing is a restructuring similar
to the
example attached with a five-year term.
At the end of five years we would sell, hopefully in a
better housing
market, and move to senior housing that has been carefully
researched with some
savings in hand; or stay if our financial situation improves. In a better environment I
think my business
plan to provide consulting services to parents who wish to better
control what their children do and see on the net would attract
investors. This business would be a VAR of software and hardware
installed, if necessary, by company technicians. One can
always hope.
If Wells Fargo Home Mortgage evicted us Joey
and I would be placed in a nightmarish situation. There is no
"affordable" housing for us in the Bay Area. One would have to go
pretty far north or into the desert to find reasonable rentals.
Joey doesn't drive. I manage to drive my ten-year-old manual
transmission Toyota with my big support protection shoes to the
grocery, etc., but we have no way of going hundreds of miles to
find rentals. Further, we need to live close to sophisticated
medical facilities. And not every rural community would accept
two guys with AIDS. Our home contains 32 years of relationship
stuff, including Joey's art work, family treasures, and the like.
No big money thngs, but we don't have the health or means to load
up and drive into the sunset. Everything would end up on the
streets or in the hands of vultures.
To be frank, I doubt either of us will live
five more
years. I will consider
myself lucky to
live another year. I would
rather die
than spend my remaining time in a dangerous, hostile living
environment. Please help
us to stay in our home and
preserve our only remaining asset.
Home of the Office of Executive Complaints,
Home Preservation Specialists, in Des Moines, Iowa.
I was referred to the "Office of Executive Complaints" in the Midwest. My plea to Mr. Heid, therefore, was viewed by Wells Fargo management as a "complaint." Everyone who writes to Wells Fargo senior management regarding a mortgage payment or other problem ends up here. All the folks in the Office of Executive Complaints are "Home Preservation Specialists." In fact, as I found out, virtually everyone who deals with failed mortgage customers, from debt collectors to underwriters, is called a Home Preservation Specialist. From this point on my experience is like something out of Kafka: absurd and hopeless.
TO BE CONTINUED
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