LAS VEGAS -- The state mediation program designed to keep underwater homeowners in their houses has gaps in protection.
Pat Hendsch tried the state mediation program and thought it would save her house, but it may not. Her case shows how people who think they're protected are still at risk of losing nearly everything. She said she feels beaten down.
"I have done every single thing they asked me to do," Hendsch said.
The first time she tried to save her home, through state-run foreclosure mediation, bank representatives didn't show up. The second time, the bank didn't have the right paperwork. Now, the third time, the bank, and Hendsch's attorney figured there was one way the semi-retired real estate agent could stay in her house.
"The only way that they could see, with all the documentation that I had, was doing bankruptcy," she said.
Instead of halving her payment to an affordable $500, Hendsch said, Wells Fargo told her it was going to sell her house immediately.
In the meantime, Hendsch met Ray Bell who was willing to buy her home in a short sale. In a letter to Hendsch, Wells Fargo said it will not wait an estimated month to allow Bell to get his FHA loan.
"I'm numb," Bell said. "We had the appraisal in and it all looked good."
Instead, Wells Fargo will auction off the house.
Hendsch has sold most everything she owned in an effort to keep her house. Her refrigerator is nearly bare.
"I'll go where I need to go and that's fine. But that's not what I thought, at my age, this would be," Hendsch said.
Her home was supposed to be auctioned off Monday morning but, at the last minute, the bank postponed it until Sept. 27. The bank provided the following statement: "We're continuing to work with Ms. Hendsch to determine if there are any options that would allow her to avoid foreclosure. Foreclosure sale for this property is scheduled for late next month."
