Thousands show up for Wells Fargo mortgage workshop

By Christopher Seward

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Terry Zachman of Kennesaw has been unemployed for some time, and to make matters worse he was treated for two aneurysms in December, further hindering his search.

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John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Wells Fargo Bank underwriters work with homeowners seeking to get mortgages modified at a workshop on Thursday.

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“I was unable to look for work, so I got behind,” said Zachman, one of several thousand attending a Wells Fargo Bank workshop Thursday to help customers avoid foreclosure.

Zachman said he got to the workshop at the Georgia World Congress Center early, and the visit paid off. The bank cut his mortgage payment by about half for seven months, which Zachman said gives him time to look for a permanent job and get back on his feet.

“Thankfully, they’ve been able to bail me out,” said Zachman, who acknowledged he had doubts about the workshop when he received a promotional letter about the event.

Wells Fargo has invited  9,500 of its customers who have troubled mortgages or are facing foreclosure to the workshop Thursday and Friday. The workshop is in Exhibit Hall A2 from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.

The bank said Thursday that customers no longer have to pre-register.

Foreclosure notices in metro Atlanta rose 16 percent in August from July, according to Equity Depot data. But notices in the 13-county metro area were down 24 percent from a year ago.

Hugh Rowden, a Wells Fargo senior vice president in charge of home and property preservation in the South, said it’s the bank’s 38th workshop, which has helped 32,600 customers in metro Atlanta stay in their homes.

“What’s important to remember is that foreclosure is not good for the customer, it’s not good for our community, and I live in the community, and it’s not good for the bank either,” Rowden said.

The executive said that when customers come in for help, seven out of 10 avoid foreclosure.

“When they don’t work with us, only one out of four avoid foreclosure,” Rowden said.

Among the core metro counties, Gwinnett led in foreclosures for the 16th straight month with 2,108 notices. Fulton, traditionally in second place, had 1,765 notices, followed by DeKalb (1,560), Cobb (1,181) and Clayton (880).

For Wells Fargo's workshop, customers must bring the following information to the workshop: photo ID; mortgage statement; letter explaining your situation; and a list of all assets and expenses. They also must bring pay stubs, W-2s and complete tax returns.

For more information, customers can call 1-800-405-8067.

-- Staff photographer John Spink contributed to this article.