I am reposting this article in preparation for an update. "Losing My Home" was originally posted on July 31. As of today I am still involved in the horrific process of saving my home from foreclosure. Wells Fargo/Fannie Mae will do anything, including manipulating and changing correspondence and creating fraudulent communications, to push me to liquidate my home. I have substantial equity in my home. My home is all I have left of my savings. Wells "loan modification" is designed to deprive seniors of that equity, that hard-earned savings, my frightening them into short sales and other tools designed for those under water without equity. More on this in the upcoming Part Two of this continuing article.
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
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
I am writing this letter to offer an explanation for my inability to pay on my mortgage with you, and to offer some thoughts on a mortgage restructuring that would enable me and my partner to remain in our Home rather than face foreclosure.
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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