Foreclosed Homeowner Dodges Boot With Help From Local Media; Servicer Acknowledges Screw-Up In Handling Loan Modification

In Stockton, California, KXTV-TV Channel 10 reports:

• It has been an uneasy few days for homeowner Teena Blanco ever since she found a notice on her door informing her she had three days to vacate her Stockton home. Despite working for months with her bank to modify her mortgage, the house was sold on July 13 -- and the bank wanted her out.

• Her first clue, however, occured the week before when she noticed a stranger at her door and asked him what he wanted. "He said, 'I'm here to re-key your house,'" Blanco said. "I said, 'I'm sorry, you must have the wrong house.'" He left, but he didn't have the wrong house. Several days later, Blanco came home to find the three-day notice, just days after making her last mortgage payment.

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• After News10 contacted Wells Fargo to inquire about the situation, the bank called back, telling Blanco their subsequent research revealed certain things had slipped through the cracks. They told her they would rescind the sale and continue to work with her on a possible modification.(1)

For the story see, Stockton homeowner crashes into modification mess nightmare.

(1) Reportedly, the bank itself bought the house at auction, so that any legal complications in attempting to rescind the sale involving the "bona fide purchaser" rights of a third party bidder are not present here.