Veteran Losing Home to VA Foreclosure, Though he Tried to Pay

Jason ‘Jay’ Sutton is a veteran who has suffered a lot of losses in his life, and is now facing one more loss; his home.

Sutton’s first wife served in Iraq and developed leukemia, possibly from the burn pits there.  She passed away a year later.  Sutton’s later met his second wife, Kelly, who contracted breast cancer and passed away also.  Sutton sank into a depressive state in 2017 and looking for refuge, began never leaving his home and not looking at any mail.

His mortgage payments were set up on autopay, but his checking account was hacked, and a new number was issued to him.  Jay Sutton admitted his avoidance of mail meant he didn’t catch on to the mortgage payment issue until he got the notice from Wells Fargo.  This was a VA loan through Wells Fargo, and Sutton called Wells Fargo to straighten everything out, Sutton said.  He had the funds to bring the loan to current, but Wells Fargo kept trying to have him complete a modification request package.  Sutton finally succumbed, filled out the paperwork, and sent it in via regular mail. (If you are not represented, please be aware everything you send should be trackable so you can document your actions.)  Then Sutton “…got the notice that the house had been foreclosed and

I was pretty shocked.”  Sutton said he never got a response from the bank on the status of his modification request.  The home was foreclosed, and Sutton is now suing the V.A. to try to buy it back, because he feels Wells Fargo did not follow regulations that require the servicer make reasonable in person contact.  When we looked up the regulation, we found that the 2013 RESPA amendment requires  “Reasonable good faith effort to establish live contact with delinquent borrowers…”  The rule also restricts dual tracking where a servicer (Wells Fargo) is evaluating a consumer for a loan modification at the same time it proceeds to foreclose on the property.

Jay Sutton is now forced to go to court to try to win back a chance to keep his home.  His message for others?  “Don’t be so embarrassed to reach out and talk to somebody.”  There are attorneys who handle these cases regularly and who know the procedure in their jurisdiction.   This knowledge can make the difference in whether you lose your home or can stop a foreclosure action.  There were things Jay admits he did not know, but if he had representation sooner, he might still own his home today.  We hope his story has a happy ending, but traditionally VA does not sell back homes to homeowners who lost the home through foreclosure.  If you are facing foreclosure, visit www.wrongfullyforeclosed.com for experienced licensed local counsel who know how to defend your home.  These attorneys negotiate with banks, lender and servicers on a regular basis to protect your home from wrongful foreclosure.

Information on Jay Sutton from WesternMassNews.com