Category Archives: action-alert

ALERT: Save Our Neighbors’ Homes This Wednesday and Thursday (J20 and J21)

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Update: Wells Fargo managed to sell of the home of the Davilas, but they postponed the auction of Sheila Walsh’s home until July 23, 2012.

This coming week, Wells Fargo Bank is again attacking the San Francisco Foreclosure and Evictions Fighters we know and love and trying to auction off their homes. For the first time, we’ve exhausted the legal remedies for postponing the bank sales.

IMPORTANT: We ask you to choose one or both days to Occupy the Auctions to save our neighbors’ homes.

Wednesday, June 20 Maria and Washington Davila (more info below)
Thursday, June 21 Sheila Walsh is 87 years old and has lived in her current home for 28 years. She has a mortgage with Wells Fargo and it seems like she has been a victim of financial fraud: she took out a home equity line of credit and through an apparently fraudulent transaction was charged $217,000 to her home equity loan. Her mortgage payment ballooned after the fraudulent charge and is now much more than she can afford. Wells Fargo plans to auction off her home on Thursday, June 21. She needs time and help to investigate the fraudulent charge, so she can resolve the matter with Wells Fargo and remain in her home.

We gather at 1:30pm at City Hall, 400 Van Ness Ave., to prepare for the auctions that start promptly at 2:00pm. Please bring a whistle or other noisemaker and earplugs if you have them (we have some to share).

Note: In the event a bank succeeds in selling one of our Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters homes, we will take additional action just following the Occupy the Auctions action. In the event of postponements or cancellations, we plan to go ahead and protest the other auctions taking place that day and also have follow-on actions planned.

Action Alert for Maria and Washington Davila

Wells Fargo plans to auction off the home of Bernal neighbor Felisa Yambao THIS WEDNESDAY (JUNE 20). Their tenants of seven years, Maria and Washington Davila, have been members of Occupy Bernal and have been fighting to save the home since they learned of the foreclosure several months ago. The homeowner, Felisa Yambao, is ill and lives in Las Vegas, but now has joined Occupy Bernal in fighting the foreclosure. Occupy Bernal and allies have mobilized to postpone the auction of the home several times, and now we need your help again.

Please take action with three steps to save their home:

1) Send the following email right now to Wells Fargo’s CEO, Board Members, and other staff–

To: john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com, alfredo.pedroza@wellsfargo.com, ruben.pulido@wellsfargo.com, boardcommunications@wellsfargo.com, jason.ohara@wellsfargo.com, richard.m.sintchak@wellsfargo.com, eric.tang@wellsfargo.com
Cc: action@occupybernal.org
Subject: Postpone Auction of Felisa Yambao’s Home at 4255 Folsom St., San Francisco (loan #0044522993)

Dear Wells Fargo staff,

Please take IMMEDIATE action to postpone the auction of Felisa Yambao’s home at 4255 Folsom St, San Francisco (loan #0044522993).

Ms. Yambao, who suffers from cancer, has been making efforts to negotiate a fair solution, yet Wells has scheduled her home for auction at 2:00pm, June 20, 2012, against the wishes of Yambao’s long-time tenants, Maria and Washington Davila.

Once Wells Fargo has postponed the auction of Felisa Yambao’s home, offer her a fair deal for a loan modification on terms that are sustainable, and which will allow her to continue to provide affordable housing for the Davilas.

This is an URGENT request, so please respond right away to postpone the auction.

Sincerely,

your name here
­

2) Starting at 8:00am on June 18, call the following Wells Fargo representatives with the message below.

Contact:
Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf at 866-878-5865
Wells Fargo Director of California Local Government Relations Alfredo Pedroza at 415-396-0829
Wells Fargo Communications Staff Ruben Pulido at 415-852-1279
Wells Fargo Branch Manager Eric Tang at 415-977-9357
Wells Fargo Branch Manager Jason O’Hara at 415-554-8820

Tell them (or leave a message):

“Please take IMMEDIATE action to postpone the auction of Felisa Yambao’s home at 4255 Folsom St, San Francisco (loan #0044522993). Ms. Yambao, who suffers from cancer, has been making efforts to negotiate a fair solution, yet Wells has scheduled her home for auction at 2:00pm, June 20, 2012, against the wishes of Yambao’s long-time tenants, Maria and Washington Davila. Once Wells Fargo has postponed the auction of Felisa Yambao’s home, offer her a fair deal for a loan modification on terms that are sustainable, and which will allow her to continue to provide affordable housing for the Davilas. This is an URGENT request, so please respond right away to postpone the auction.”
­­
3) Show up at 1:45pm (auction starts promptly at 2:00pm and the auctioneers can sell off a house in less than a minute) on the sidewalk in front of City Hall, 400 Van Ness Ave, in San Francisco, to protest Wells Fargo auctioning off Felisa Yambao’s, and Washington and Maria Davila’s home.

Bring a loud voice, a whistle, earplugs, and signs to let Wells Fargo know we won’t stand for it anymore… stop illegally selling off our neighbors homes!

Background:

Washington and Maria Davila have been living in a house they have been renting in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood for the past seven years. But now, because their landlord Felisa Yambao, who lives in Las Vegas and is suffering from cancer, is in foreclosure, Wells Fargo is planning to sell the house at an auction this Friday. According to the Ellis Act, a new owner-occupant of the house eventually could evict the Davilas, and the Davilas would like to continue renting from Ms. Yambao.

Last January 20, Wells Fargo canceled an auction date after Occupy Bernal planned a protest. Last month, we mobilized again to save the home with a call-in day and protest on behalf of the Davila’s and the Yambao’s. But the bank hasn’t learned its lesson. On Wednesday, Occupy Bernal is determined to disrupt the housing auction to stop the foreclosure and eviction of our neighbors. We also will be leafleting potential home buyers, calling on them not to buy the Davila’s home.

Now Wells Fargo plans to auction Ms. Yambao and the Davilas’ home on June 20 despite:

  • San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ unanimous vote for a moratorium on foreclosures until the state legislature passes a Homeowner Bill of Rights
  • The Mayor’s request for a “pause” until the state legislature passes a Homeowner Bill of Rights
    California State Attorney General Kamala Harris’ request for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to suspend foreclosure activity
  • The report from San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting that shows that 84% of a sample of San Francisco foreclosures contain at least one legal violation

These actions brought to you by Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and other supportive organizations coordinated within the Occupy the Auctions and Evictions campaign.

Link: Upcoming Bank Auctions of Foreclosure/Eviction Fighter Homes    Foreclosure/Eviction Fighter Profilesion Fighter Profiles

ALERT: Stop the Auction of Alberto Del Rio’s Home!

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Update: A large number of folks turned out to stop the auction of the home of Bernal neighbor Alberto del Rio and his family. Fortunately, his family managed to file bankruptcy in time to postpone the auction of his home until July 6, 2012. For more details, see the video below and a further description and photos here

Link: PDF (for printing)

 STOP THE AUCTION of ALBERTO DEL RIO’S HOME!

ON FRIDAY, June 1, 1:45pm at CITY HALL (Van Ness side)

 Together we can stop predatory banks and help our neighbors!

In the past few months we’ve stalled/stopped dozens of home auctions.

 Alberto Del Rio is a Bernal Heights resident who grew up in his family home. He lives there with his wife and 3 kids. To help his mother have a decent retirement, the Del Rio family took equity out of the home and refinanced. But their loan from World Savings was a Pick-a-Payment loan. Lawsuits have found these sorts of loans to be predatory. World Savings sold the loan to Wachovia, which was then acquired by Wells Fargo. “Wells took advantage of me. Like they did so many other people. They promised us the moon,” says Alberto, who has been trying to get a loan modification since 2000. The bank has continually lost his paperwork, and refused to negotiate in good faith. The bank even advised him to stop making payments in order to qualify for a loan modification, which triggered the foreclosure process. Now, Wells Fargo is scheduled to auction his home on June 1. But we won’t let them.

YOU CAN ALSO HELP BY CALLING WELLS FARGO’s CEO and STAFF right away in protest: Just say: “Postpone the auction of Alberto Del Rio’s home at 565 Banks St., San Francisco. Loan # 47339080.” Then tell them the above story. CallCEO John Stumpf (866-878-5865), director Alfredo Pedroza (415-396-0829), communications Ruben Pulido (415-852-1279), bank managers Eric Tang (415-977-9357) and Jason O’Hara (415-554-8820).

For more info www.occupybernal.org or call 415-483-9138.

ALERT: Protest the Foreclosure Auction of Allen Stowers’ Home

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Please protest the auction of the home of Bernal resident Allen Stowers for today, May 23, 2012. Allen is out of town on business, but has asked us to protest the sale of his home.

Please come at 1:45pm to the sidewalk in front of City Hall at 400 Van Ness Ave. Bring a whistle and earplugs (we have some to share).

Tell Wells Fargo: Stop the Auction of Ernesto Viscarra’s Home!

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Tell Wells Fargo: Stop the Auction of Ernesto Viscarra’s Home!

Call/Email TODAY!

Ernesto Viscarra received a trial loan modification from Wells Fargo in March. So why is his home still scheduled for auction?

Ernesto has been living in his home in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco for 33 years. In 2008, he fell into default on his mortgage with Wells Fargo. Despite the fact that he had the ability to work out a loan modification he could afford, the bank refused to negotiate with him–until Ernesto began working with Occupy Bernal, staging demonstrations, making phone calls and sending emails targeting bank representatives.

In March, Ernesto won a trial loan modification and has been making payments ever since. Yet Wells Fargo hasn’t lifted a May 21 auction date on his home. It was in response to highly-publicized situations just like these that Atty. General Kamala Harris called for a homeowners’ bill of rights. Among other things, it would ban “dual tracking”, a practice where homeowners are simultaneously on track for a loan modification and for foreclosure, and may lose their homes as a result. Let’s call and email Wells Fargo TODAY and make sure Ernesto is NOT a victim of dual tracking.

Please take action with three steps to save Ernesto’s home:

1) Send the following email right now to Wells Fargo’s CEO, Board Members, and other staff–

To: john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com, alfredo.pedroza@wellsfargo.com, ruben.pulido@wellsfargo.com, boardcommunications@wellsfargo.com, jason.ohara@wellsfargo.com, eric.tang@wellsfargo.com

Cc: action@occupybernal.org

Subject: Postpone Auction of Ernesto Viscarra’s Home at 249 Anderson St., San Francisco (Loan # 46110532)

Dear Wells Fargo staff,

Please take IMMEDIATE action to postpone the auction of Ernesto Viscarra’s home at 249 Anderson St., San Francisco (Loan # 46110532).

Mr. Viscarra has lived in his home for 33 years. After four years of being ignored, he finally was able to negotiate with your institution, and was granted a trial loan modification. He has been making his payments on time, but he still has an auction date of Monday, May 21 on his home.

I am aware of situations in which Wells Fargo staff have engaged in dual tracking, where homeowners are simultaneously on track for a loan modification and for foreclosure, and have lost their home as a result.

Please make assurances that you will make good on the terms of Mr. Viscarra’s loan modification and take immediate action to cancel the auction of his home.

Sincerely,

your name here

2) Starting at 8:00am on May 16, call the following Wells Fargo representatives with the message below.

Contact:

  • Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf at 866-878-5865
  • Wells Fargo Director of California Local Government Relations Alfredo Pedroza at 415-396-0829
  • Wells Fargo Communications Staff Ruben Pulido at 415-852-1279
  • Wells Fargo Branch Manager Eric Tang at 415-977-9357
  • Wells Fargo Branch Manager Jason O’Hara at 415-554-8820

Tell them (or leave a message):

 “Please take IMMEDIATE action to postpone the auction of Ernesto Viscarra’s home at 249 Anderson St., San Francisco (lLoan # 46110532). Mr. Viscarra has lived in his home for 33 years. After four years of being ignored, he finally was able to negotiate with your institution, and was granted a trial loan modification. He has been making his payments on time, but he still has a May 21 auction date on his home. I am aware of situations in which Wells Fargo staff have engaged in dual tracking, where homeowners are simultaneously on track for a loan modification and for foreclosure, and have lost their home as a result. Please make assurances that you will make good on the terms of Mr. Viscarra’s loan modification and take immediate action to cancel the auction of his home.”

3.) If the sale of the home is not cancelled, join us on the steps of City Hall (Van Ness side) on Monday, May 21, at 9:45 a.m. to stop the auction.

URGENT Action Alert: Save the Bernal Home of Ted Harvey and His Disabled Daughter

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Update as of 7:59am on April 30: Wells Fargo has postponed the foreclosure auction of Ted Harvey’s home until May 30. We will work with Ted to get a fair deal from the bank. The auction action for today is postponed unless you feel like coming down to check it out anyway.

Wells Fargo plans to auction off the home of Bernal neighbor Ted Harvey and his disabled daughter TOMORROW.

Please take action with three steps to save their home:

1) Send the following email right now to Wells Fargo’s CEO, Board Members, and other staff–
——-
To: john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com, alfredo.pedroza@wellsfargo.com, ruben.pulido@wellsfargo.com, boardcommunications@wellsfargo.com, jason.ohara@wellsfargo.com, richard.m.sintchak@wellsfargo.com, eric.tang@wellsfargo.com
Cc: action@occupybernal.org
Subject: Postpone Auction of James Theodore Harvey’s Home at 137 Faith St, San Francisco (loan #708-0154783435)

Dear Wells Fargo staff,

Please take IMMEDIATE action to postpone the auction of James Theodore “Ted” Harvey’s Home at 137 Faith St, San Francisco (loan #708-0154783435).

He has signed and is making payments for a trial payment plan on a loan modification, yet Wells has scheduled his home for auction at 2:00pm, April 30, 2012.

Once Wells Fargo has postponed the auction of Ted Harvey’s home, offer him a fair deal for a loan modification on terms that are sustainable so he and his disabled daughter can continue to live in their home.

This is an URGENT request, so please respond right away to postpone the auction.

Sincerely,

your name here
——-

2) Starting at 8:00am on April 30, call the following Wells Fargo representatives with the message below.

Contact:

  • Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf at 866-878-5865
  • Wells Fargo Director of California Local Government Relations Alfredo Pedroza at 415-396-0829
  • Wells Fargo Communications Staff Ruben Pulido at 415-852-1279
  • Wells Fargo Branch Manager Richard Sintchak at 415-396-7970
  • Wells Fargo Branch Manager Eric Tang at 415-977-9357
  • Wells Fargo Branch Manager Jason O’Hara at 415-554-8820

Tell them (or leave a message):

“Please take IMMEDIATE action to postpone the auction of James Theodore ‘Ted’ Harvey’s Home at 137 Faith St, San Francisco (loan #708-0154783435). He has signed and is making payments for a trial payment plan on a loan modification, yet Wells has scheduled his home for auction at 2:00pm, April 30, 2012. Once Wells Fargo has postponed the auction of Ted Harvey’s home, offer him a fair deal for a loan modification on terms that are sustainable so he and his disabled daughter can continue to live in their home. This is an URGENT request, so please respond right away to postpone the auction.”
——-

3) Show up at 1:45pm (auction starts promptly at 2:00pm and the auctioneers can sell off a house in less than a minute) on the sidewalk in front of City Hall, 400 Van Ness Ave, in San Francisco, to protest Wells Fargo auctioning off Ted Harvey’s home.

Bring a loud voice, a whistle, earplugs, and signs to let Wells Fargo know we won’t stand for it anymore… stop illegally selling off our neighbors homes!

Background:

Ted Harvey — carpenter, musician, and father — bought his Bernal Heights home in 2005 and made regular payments for over five years.

Two years ago, after a work injury and his 11 year old daughter’s two month hospitalization, Ted fell behind in house payments. He’s been trying to modify his Wells-Fargo loan and believed he had — Wells Fargo cashed his two recent checks!

Now Wells Fargo plans to auction Ted’s home on April 30 despite:

  • San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ unanimous vote for a moratorium on foreclosures until the state legislature passes a Homeowner Bill of Rights
  • The Mayor’s request for a “pause” until the state legislature passes a Homeowner Bill of Rights
  • California State Attorney General Kamala Harris’ request for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to suspend foreclosure activity
  • The report from San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting that shows that 84% of a sample of San Francisco foreclosures contain at least one legal violation

For more information, see http://occupybernal.org/wordpress/?p=1276 or http://occupytheauctions.org/wordpress/?p=1012

Please forward this alert right away to others who may be interested.

Save Eric’s Home – Occupy the Auction Dance Party on Friday

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UPDATE 4:30pm on April 27, 2012: City Hall Building Manager Robert Reiter tells foreclosure auctioneers they can no longer hold foreclosure auctions on City Hall Steps. For photos of the action, see http://occupytheauctions.org/wordpress/?p=876.

Thanks to Peter Menchini for the great video of the Occupy the Auctions Dance Party action below:

UPDATE as of the morning of April 27, 2012: Wells Fargo has postponed the auction of Eric and John’s home, so we are going ahead as planned with celebrating by dancing away the other foreclosure auctions scheduled for today.

At 1:45pm this Friday, April 27, please come to an Occupy the Auction Dance Party to stop Wells Fargo from auctioning off the home of Eric and his partner John.

San Francisco foreclosure auctions take place on City Hall steps at 400 Van Ness Ave. (unless the weather is very bad).

Eric and John live in Bernal and Eric is a Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter and active member of Occupy Bernal. They went through a difficult financial time, but are now both employed and have the funds to make regular payments on a renegotiated loan, which Wells Fargo has refused to provide.

Please arrive on time and bring loud whistles and earplugs.

The action will go ahead as a celebration even if the bank postpones Eric and John’s auction.

Link: RSVP on Facebook event

Video outside Wells Fargo Shareholder meeting with event invite (thanks to Carol Harvey):

Protest the Wells Fargo Shareholders’ Meeting

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There is a planning meeting for Occupy Bernal in preparation for this action. The planning meeting will occur on Thurs. April 19 at 7 p.m at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center.

We’ll be be taking our demands directly to John Stumpf as part of a broad coalition of community, faith, labor, immigrant rights and movement organizations that is going to the Wells Fargo shareholders meeting on April 24, to fight for justice for homeowners and our communties.

Be a part of the 99% takeover. Join us on April 24th and tell John Stumpf that enough is enough!

We are just ONE WEEK away from the 99% Takeover of Wells Fargo’s annual Shareholder’s meeting!!! Thanks to the hard work and commitment of so many folks we have a very solid plan shaping up that will likely shake up the Bank that is breaking up communities, families and people’s future!

Meeting Reminder

The final coalition planning meeting will be this Thursday, 4/19 from 5:30-7:30 @ Local 87’s office, 240 Golden Gate in SF just a few minutes from the Civic Center BART stop.

Note: Occupy Bernal is having an organizing meeting for the OB contingent this same night, at 7pm at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center

Action/Training Updates

4/21
Occupy SF will be hosting one of the final Direct Action trainings for participating in non-violent direct action that will cover: risking arrest, role-playing actions, legal consequences and details of the April 24th action on Saturday April 21, 10am to 1pm in San Francisco. This will be followed by a mandatory training from 2:30-4:30pm for anyone who is committed to participating in non-violent direct action on the outside takeover. To attend please respond to this email for the location.
4/23
The inside action planning team will be holding a final training and meeting from 3-6pm for all of the fighters planning to be inside the meeting on the 24th in the event the meeting is not shut down. This training is for folks with proxies and share only and for more information, please email Marguerite Young. Marguerite.young@seiu.org.
Later in the day
Occupy SF will be holding a “pop up” occupation and teach in starting @ 5pm in front of Wells Fargo’s corporate HQ on Montgomery & California St. in downtown SF. There will be another non-violent, direct action training as part of that event for folks who have to miss the training on Saturday. (Bring warm clothes!)

Legal Information

For folks participating in Non-violent Direct Action: please read this legal information from Occupy Legal if you are willing to participate in non-violent direct action

Websites and Social Media

ACTION ALERT: Demand an Immediate San Francisco Moratorium on Evictions, Foreclosures, and Foreclosure Auctions

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To all those who support a moratorium on for-profit and predatory evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions, Occupy Bernal asks you to call and email San Francisco city officials.

Please forward this action alert widely to those who would be interested. For more information about Occupy Bernal, see www.occupybernal.org. If you have any questions or concerns about this alert, please contact Occupy Bernal at action@occupybernal.org or +1 415-483-9138.

Call City Officials

Please call the following officials and ask for “an immediate moratorium on for-profit and predatory evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions”:

* Mayor Ed Lee’s aides Jeff Buckley and Una Fannon at 415-554-6141.
* District Attorney George Gascon at 415-553-1751 (leave message)
* City Attorney Dennis Herrera at 415-554-4700

Email City Officials

Please send the following email to San Francisco city officials (feel free to customize it for your own personal message and please cc action@occupybernal.org so we can track the number sent):
——-
To: MayorEdwinLee@sfgov.org, Jeff.Buckley@sfgov.org, Una.Fannon@sfgov.org, districtattorney@sfgov.org, cityattorney@sfgov.org
Cc: action@occupybernal.org
Subject: Take Immediate Action on San Francisco Evictions and Foreclosures

As citywide elected leaders of San Francisco, why do you remain inactive and silent in the face of the foreclosure crisis? Predatory lenders are running our working, middle-class, and minority neighbors out of our communities. They are destroying what little income and ethnic/racial diversity remains in San Francisco.

Please speak out and take action immediately.

1. Demand that lenders declare an immediate moratorium on all for-profit evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions, and provide affordable refinancing, including principal reduction, to all households in foreclosure. If AG Kamala Harris can do it for the entire state, you can do it for San Francisco.

2. Enact a citywide moratorium on all foreclosures until the malfeasance identified in Assessor Ting’s report are investigated and corrected.

3. Urge John Stumpf, the CEO of home-based Wells Fargo, to meet with the people whose homes his bank is foreclosing.

4. Meet with Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and Occupy SF Housing to publicly declare your commitment on the above demands.

Thank you.