Review of Wells Fargo Three-Step Refinance System
The loan officer went through a litany of questions for about a half hour which included running a credit report on me and my spouse after providing him the necessary information. He looked at the FICO scores and payment history on my current mortgage and said everything looked really good. He told me that his loan team would be in touch with me to finish the loan application process within a week or two.
Well I did not receive any correspondence back from the Wells Fargo refinance department for about a month. I eventually received a package stating the loan was in process but they needed to get copies of income data such as paystubs and w2s as well as employer contact information. I was not sure how they could say the loan was in process when they were still asking for everything but the kitchen sink. With regard to assets, the processor requested a few months of recent bank statements as well as any other significant asset holdings I should report. This refinance went from being an easy 123 streamline to a full document mortgage application.
The information was quickly jettisoned back to Wells Fargo via fax as I had no confidence in mailing anything since snail mail provides no proof of sending material. I received a call a few days later from the Wells Fargo loan processor calling to verify my wife's employer through my phone. This girl seemed mixed up on doing verification of employers as she had my company listed as my spouse's employer and said she needed my employer phone also. This inquiry seemed crazy to me since I had a copy of the fax transmittal of the loan application specifically showing employers contact information for my wife and me. I really do not know how this person crossed wires.
The lender asked for an additional bank statement a few days later and I faxed that as well. The next day, I received a call from an appraiser wanting to schedule a home appraisal as soon as the next day. My wife was going in for a scheduled c section baby delivery so that process was put off for a week and a half. The appraiser was polite on the return call and flexible with delaying the appraisal for more suitable time for everyone.
The appraisal results came a week later at the burden of having to call the lender myself. I wonder when Wells Fargo even planned on giving me the news. The value of my home came in about $45,000 less than what I paid for the home three years ago. I was upset by the decline in value, but realized several homes in my area have gone down the same dreadful tailspin. We live in a good safe neighborhood with a really decent school district, but I guess the value of the property is subject to the state of the economy and I did not hold Wells Fargo or the appraisal accountable for this grim news. The low value of the home was a deal killer and the refinance was going to proceed no further.
The real story of the Wells Fargo Three-Step Refinance System is that it is anything but easy or streamlined. I understood financial institutions made several bad loans to people thus placing national and world banking systems into a real bind. Due diligence should be exercised with every borrower considering a loan regardless of the amount. The real problem I had with Wells Fargo was that the communication was poor and met with long delays. If you are considering refinance through Wells Fargo just because they already service your loan or performed a recent appraisal, reconsider talking to another lender. You will still have to go through the full documentation process anyway and may even find a lower rate along the way.
Published by Brad Kamer
Brad writes several articles on food and restaurant reviews, golf course reviews, and several "how to" home and garden improvement tips. While his full time gig is in the accounting field, he spends his free... View profile
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17 Comments
Post a CommentWells Fargo had my mortgage and my wife and I did a really easy refinance with them in 2011. Didn't have to get another appraisal or anything. I'm about to approach them again, as rates have gone down another 1%.
Sorry, but I just completed this process and it could not have been easier. I got the first call from WF on 7/31/11 offering to reduce my 15 yr rate from 4.8 to 3.55%. Later that evening I got the second call from the loan officer and the rate was lowered to 3.5%. On Mon. I got the 3rd simple call. I bank at WF so they had access to account info; they asked me to verbally confirm my income and give them contact info for my emploiyer (NO doc- NO appraisal). 10 days after the first phone call I got email congratulating me that I was approved and I got the packet 4 days later. It's 16 days since the first time I ever heard of this program and my executed docs are on their way, reducing my payments by almost half. I intend to keep paying my old amount, though, as I want to pay off this house before I retire. Doing that, I will save $12,000, but have the flexibility of the lower payment if I hit a rough patch. And the only cost to me was $20 for a notary. This is as good as advertised; the rate may be slightly higher but is offset by NO CLOSING COSTS. Seriously. WF has been pleasant and efficient to deal with -- and no, I don't work for them. BTW, I'm a consultant and projects come and go but I've had a solid couple of years so I jumped at this offer. This is only my second refi ever (1st to get out of ARM) and I've never pulled out equity so I know that's different than some folks, but my story has a happy ending. Good luck...
I am a lender who used to work for Wells Fargo. The three step program is a refinance. Simple as that. The costs are less because your rate is higher than market and you are using services provided by companies that Wells Fargo owns. It is not any more simple or difficult than any refinance would be. Another fact about the three step is Wells Fargo solicits the customers of the loan officers it employs without their knowledge. A loan officer brings in customers he/she sources - Wells Fargo later markets to the customer behind the loan officer's back to cut them out of the deal. Do right and go back to the loan officer who originated you mortgage. You will be taken care of and receive a low rate. And don't patronize any big bank...they will sell you down the river if the price is right.
We have had a Three step Loan in the works for about two months. We expected it to complete by now but otherwise only communication issues between the woman actually handling my paperwork and the underwriters. I have gotten requests from the underwriters for information that the point of sales people insisted wasn't required. My contact at the Wells Fargo office in AL that is handling the loan stated that the underwriters send out these requests as boilerplate and that she had numerous customers question them. She also stated that I did not have to provide the information and I have not. Loan processing is about a month behind WF's predicted timing. We shall see, but there have been no requests for fees at all. I suspect that some kind of skim must be in the works locally if folks are being charged for this service without changing the amount owed. We were told up front that borrowing more than our balance would entail fees.
Ours was a piece of cake. And Grandma, you ask a very legitimate question about why would my mortgage co call me to offer the 3-step refi process to lower my interest rate. It was completely "no cost" and dropped my rate to 4.125 from 5.25. My guess is that they had problems with the docs from our original loan and provided this opportunity through their loss mitigation department.
I couldn't disagree more. The process was alarmingly simple and went as smooth as was advertised. We have a very high credit score so that might be the reason it went so easily. As they say, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater!
Why would my mortgage co call me to offer the 3-step refi process to lower my interest rate?
I'm in the middle of doing the 3-step process as well. Today's climate of banks missing paperwork and foreclosures being illegal and loans being sold to various lenders at the same time with some of them being paid off mortgages which then end up in foreclosures and people losing their houses, etc., one must be very careful. I'll play along and go through everything with a fine tooth comb and look for signs of foreclosure if a payment is late by even a day, etc. All I hear are people who were denied the loan at the last moment, but none where it went through thoroughly and completely and is all set and the person is paying the lower amount. Personally I feel if you want our economy to improve--don't vote for any Democrats as it's now the Communist Party and WF is very much a part of the gang. It is true the GOP are also part of the NWO scam, but there are so many more people watching their every move that they know they have to change and go back to our Constitutional roots or the
I too was offered the 1-2-3 program. No doc, no income verification, no cost.
I asked if any costs would be tacked onto my mortgaga balance she said nope, nothing, So I decided to proceed. Never heard for 2 weeks, made some phone calls that were never returned by the person offering this refi. Finally got a letter in the mail saying denied, insufficent income. I purchased the house 10 yrs ago for 100,000 less than 2010's worth. Our income is higher than 10 yrs ago and the mortgage balance is quite a bit lower than 10 yrs ago. I called S.C. they said nothing has been done it has not gone through the channels but I still got a denial. Never asked for info, no w's etc. So how do they know insufficient income. Wonder if it is a scam
I have had 2 mortgages with Wells and done a total of about 3 refi's. I decided to take advantage of a lower rate. They pulled my credit on the first call, said everything looked good, and requested certain documents which I faxed the next day. I got the appraisal done about 2 weeks later and got some documents in the mail a few weeks after that. A month passed and they said they are waiting on underwriting and also on word from the home equity. No problem. Another month went by and I get an email saying that they need full tax forms and also that my rate is expiring in 5 days and if I want to keep the locked rate that it would cost me $577 for every 5 days. I was like, "You got to be kidding me". I couldn't believe they wanted me to pay for them taking so long. They should of asked me for tax documents 2 or 3 months ago. It takes over a week to get a call or email. I cancelled my refi with them a week ago by email(still waiting on confirmation). It has been a disaster. They have calle