After winning a strange legal judgment against Wells Fargo, a Philadelphia homeowner started foreclosure proceedings on the bank’s mortgage office.

Forcing Mortgage Company to Pay Attention to Foreclosure

Patrick Rodgers decided it was time to force his mortgage company to pay attention to him after he received no reply to the three letters he sent them asking why he was being forced to pay a home insurance premium for a $1 million house when he bought his 3-story Victorian home for $180,000.

Real Estate Procedure Act

After sending his letters Rodgers discovered the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Passed in 1974 to protect borrowers, RESPA stipulates a standard complaint letter that can be sent to lenders. It requires mortgage companies to acknowledge written requests within 20 business days or face penalties

Rodgers Wins

Rodgers took Wells Fargo to court, and won a $1,173 judgment against the bank! Rodgers won a default judgement because the bank didn’t show up in court. When the bank still failed to reply to his letters, he started foreclosure proceedings. He placed a sheriffs levy against Well’s Fargo’s local mortgage office in order to cover the $1,173 judgment, plus tax. The contents of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage’s offices at are reportedly still scheduled for a March 4 sheriff’s sale. While the bank paid up in January they still have not responded to his letters.

For information and guidance on foreclosure, you call us.

Source: Huffington Post, Philadelphia Man Forecloses on Wells Fargo, Feb 2011