If you are a homeowner who is having trouble making your monthly mortgage payment, you are not alone.  If you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments and are facing foreclosure, you must contact your lender in order to save your home.  Wells Fargo, like other lenders, wants to help homeowners make their monthly payments and stay in their homes.  If there is a risk of missing a payment, the sooner Wells Fargo is contacted, the more options they can offer to help the homeowner.

To make your call to Wells Fargo as productive as possible, and to avoid having to make multiple calls, there is some information you should have ready.  Having the following information and documents will make it easier for the Wells Fargo representative assist you.

• Loan number
  
• Car payments
  
• College tuition payments
  
• Grocery expenses
• Mortgage statement (most recent)
  
• Pay stubs
• School expenses
  
• Telephone bills
• Transportation expenses
  
• Utility bills
  

Having all this information provides Wells Fargo with a complete financial picture for the homeowner which helps them find the best solution.  Even if you can't find all of this information right away, the most important thing is to call and initiate the communication that will help you save your home from foreclosure.

Homeowners at risk of missing a payment or who are facing foreclosure, should call Wells Fargo and express their interest in saving their home. The sooner the better as timing is an important element in the options that Wells Fargo has available to help the homeowner.

Wells Fargo Contact Information:

• Wells Fargo Financial: (800) 275-9254
• Wells Fargo Home Equity: (800) 944-4601
• Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Customer Service: (800) 678-7986
• Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ARM Reset Help: (866) 398-7556

Your most recent statement or payment coupon will also have contact information, and may indicate which is the best department to call for your situation.

There are several options that Wells Fargo has available in order to help homeowners.

• Repayment Plan

This is a common solution offered to homeowners. The homeowner brings the account current over a series of payments while still making their regular monthly payments.

• Home Loan Modification

This option allows homeowners in default to make changes to their current loan so that they are able to make the payments. The delinquent amount, including interest and penalties, are added back into the principal balance of the loan, thereby bringing the account current. This is different from refinancing in that loan modification does not result in a new loan the way refinancing does.

• Partial Claim or Claim Advance
  

This is an option for homeowners who have a mortgage insured by HUD (Housing and Urban Development) or private mortgage insurance company. HUD or the mortgage insurer advance the amount needed to bring the mortgage current to the homeowner. The homeowner signs a note to HUD or the insurer for the amount advanced. The homeowner can then resume making the regular payments because the loan is current. The repayment terms of the note are worked out with the issuer and often repayment isn't required until the mortgage is paid off.

• Short Sale

This option does not save the home from foreclosure, but does spare the homeowner's credit from having a foreclosure on it. When market conditions are such that the sale of the home cannot cover the amount owed, this results in a short sale. If arranged ahead of time, the outstanding amount owed on the mortgage after the sale may be waived.

• Deed in Lieu

The deed in lieu option again doesn't save the home, but does less damage to the homeowner's credit than a foreclosure. The homeowner voluntarily signs the deed over to the lender. In many cases the homeowner will have had to try to sell their home at fair market value before being able to use this option.

Here are some important points to keep in mind when dealing with Wells Fargo:

• Wells Fargo does not accept partial payments unless previously arranged with the loss mitigation department
• Keep in touch, as the economy and interest rates change new options may become available
• While Wells Fargo is always willing to work with customers, they cannot guarantee that they will be able to help all of them
• There are typically no fees associated with the options offered by Wells Fargo to help their borrowers - this can vary case to case though