Texas Homeowner Seeks To Invoke State Homestead Law To Invalidate Mortgage Obtained When Refinancing Family Home On 11+ Acres Of Land

In Jefferson County, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:

• A man claims a mortgage company is attempting to wrongfully foreclose on his home, despite its failure to provide him with notice of its intent.
  
  Todd David Bryson filed a lawsuit Dec. 28 in Jefferson County District Court against Wells Fargo Bank.
  
  In his complaint, Bryson alleges he stumbled upon a foreclosure notice for his home, which sits on 11.37 acres of land.
  
  Bryson had previously granted a lien to Wells Fargo in an attempt to guarantee a $700,000 promissory. The interest in the lien was Bryson’s home, according to the complaint.
  
  If Bryson was to become delinquent on his loan, Wells Fargo agreed to provide him with a 21-day advanced notice of its posting of the foreclosure of his home, the suit states. However, Bryson claims he was never given the required notice and only recently discovered Wells Fargo’s intent to foreclose on it on Jan. 1, the complaint says.
  
  In fact, Bryson is now questioning whether the lien on his home is even valid.
  
  “This property was known by all parties to constitute the plaintiff’s homestead and as such, any acquisition of the lien upon said property would have to comply, clearly and completely, with the provisions not only of the Texas Property Code, but also the Texas Constitution,” the suit states.
  
  “Notwithstanding the foregoing, Wells’s predecessor in interest, Wachovia Bank, induced plaintiff to execute loan documentation related to acquisition of financing from said bank even though loan officers of Wachovia Bank were aware of the fact that (i) the property constituted plaintiff’s homestead and (ii) plaintiff had already completed construction of the improvements constituting his homestead before the bank presented documentation to plaintiff purporting to create the lien upon the property.”
  
  In a telephone conversation with the Record, Alfredo Padilla, a spokesman for Wells Fargo Mortgage, said the company is “looking into the matter.”
  
  If Wells Fargo forecloses on Bryson’s home, he claims he will lose out on $200,000 worth of equity in the property.
  
  Bryson seeks an order that would determine the lien as invalid, plus unspecified damages, attorney’s fees, court costs and other relief the court deems just.
  
  James Wimberley of McPherson, Hughes, Bradley, Wimberley, Steele and Chatelain in Port Arthur will be representing him.

Source: Man fears losing $200,000 worth of equity in home.