Consumer complaint received 2020-02-23
Company: Ocwen Financial Corporation
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX : Homeowner receives letter from lender, PHH Mortgage, dated XX/XX/XXXX. She attempts to make contact with the lenders representative, XXXX XXXX, at the phone number in the correspondence. The homeowner stated that for two weeks she called multiple times a day at various times of the day, but the phone never connected to the representative. She decides to send a loss modification packet on her own to the fax number as indicated on the correspondence from the lender. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Homeowner receives letter from lender dated XX/XX/XXXX. She called the lenders representative, XXXX XXXX, she was unable to reach him. She became frustrated and she sought help from a HUD Approve Housing Counseling Agency. 

XX/XX/XXXX : A complete loan modification packet was sent to the lender ; the packet was sent according to the instructions outlined in the XX/XX/XXXX correspondence from the lender sent to the homeowner. The fax number given by the lender in the correspondence did not work, therefore the housing counselor had to contact the lender to receive a fax number that was operable to receive the requested documentation for the loan modification. To contact the lender during the working day ( EST : XXXX ) is very difficult and without being on hold for over 40 minutes. The 3rd party authorization form was sent to : XXXX. The loss mitigation application, 3rd party authorization and supporting documentation packet was sent by fax at XXXX ( fax : XXXX ) ( SEE FAX COVERSHEET dated XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX : HUD Approved Housing Counselor contacts lender after working hours due to the lender will not answer calls prior to XXXX EST. The lender requested additional documents needed to submit to underwriting for review. The following was needed : Homeowner must prove employment, the paystubs did not substantiate employment. A letter from the employer is needed to validate employment ; the letter must be on letterhead, dates of employment and rate of pay. 
Page 3 and 5 of the request for mortgage application was not readable. 


XX/XX/XXXX : HUD Approved Housing Counselor contacts lender after working hours due to the lender will not answer calls prior to XXXX EST. Lender states they had not received the information sent via fax on XX/XX/XXXX. Therefore counselor must resend packet ( SEE FAX COVERSHEET dated XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX ) : Homeowner must prove employment, the paystubs did not substantiate employment. A letter from the employer is needed to validate employment ; the letter must be on letterhead, dates of employment and rate of pay. 
Page 3 and 5 of the request for mortgage application was not readable. 

XX/XX/XXXX : HUD Approved Housing Counselor contacts lender to receive update status of loan modification application. Was told additional documentation was needed by the underwriter. The underwriter wanted proof that TANF deposits are being deposited in the bank. The counselor explained that the TANF benefits were not deposit into the bank ; state funds are deposited on a EPPI Card. The  representative stated that the benefits must be deposited into the bank, if not, the benefits will not be considered as income. The counselor faxed the TANF statements again, as was sent with the initial RMA application, and faxed EPPI card information as issued by the State of Georgia for TANF benefits. The information was also emailed to XXXX ( SEE EMAIL and FAX COVERSHEET for XXXX and XXXX and attached documents dated XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ). Documents sent : Letter of Explanation of TANF benefits, amounts, EPPI Card, benefit statements, etc. 
TANF statement ( XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ) Food Stamp Statements ( XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ) Bank statements ( again to include additional month ) EPPI Card information as obtained from the State of Georgia website regarding the benefits and how they are distributed on the issued card XX/XX/XXXX : HUD Approved Housing Counselor contacts lender to receive update status of loan modification application. Was told additional documentation was needed by the underwriter. The representative wanted the following ( SEE COVERSHEET for XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX and XXXX ) : TANF signed statement by the homeowner : a signed statement with an explanation to clarify how the TANF benefits are distributed to the homeowner ( the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX and sent via fax was denied as acceptable. Although it had the same information was sent XX/XX/XXXX. 
Additional TANF Benefit statements for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. ( These are the same statements sent XX/XX/XXXX under fax coversheet ). 

XX/XX/XXXX : HUD Approved Housing Counselor contacts lender to receive update status of loan modification application. Was told additional documentation was needed by the underwriter. The representative wanted the following ( SEE COVERSHEET for XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX and XXXX ) : Bank statements : XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX Hardship letter ( this document was sent under original submission in XX/XX/XXXX and during the resubmission of RMA application as required and requested by the lender under submission XX/XX/XXXX ) Page 5 of the RMA must be resent (  was sent XX/XX/XXXX SEE COVERSHEET ) The representative asked for the XX/XX/XXXX : HUD Approved Housing Counselor contacts lender to receive update status of loan modification application. Was told additional documentation was needed by the underwriter. The representative wanted the following ( SEE COVERSHEET for XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX and XXXX ) : Re-submission of entire RMA Mortgage Assistance Application ; the representative stated the RMA application sent in XXXX and XXXX expired and the process needed to start again New hardship letter ; the representative stated that the hardship expired under the original submission in XXXX and a new hardship is needed Spoke to Employee # XXXX. Loan modification status, outstanding balance of {$9000.00}. Incomplete : Need completed hardship affidavit from application ( date ) and the application solicitation center inquiry section. Please note the representative could not clarify what the " Solicitation center inquiry section '' is and could not find it on the RMA. He also placed the counselor on hold to talk to management regarding the Solicitation center inquiry section '' and his management could not find it on the RMA. But he said if it is not sent in, the packet would be considered incomplete. 

The homeowner believes her consumer rights have been violated. She faithfully submitted the same documentation over and over again. A representative stated to the borrower and counselor that the lender will be receiving a subsidy to add to the loan from the government ; therefore the underwriters wanted to ensure the biggest return to modify the loan, if possible. The RMA application had to be resubmitted three times for no reason except that the lender is increasing the defaulted amount in order to receive a greater payment for loss mitigation operations. The loan modification could have been approved back in XXXX with the 1st submission by the HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency. Therefore the homeowner is asking the loan modification PITI payment to be {$550.00} per month or less and for the loan to be restructured for 25 years with an interest rate fixed at 3.75 % with no balloon payment. And the lender should not receive any subsidy for lack of resolving the default expediently. 

Also the lender served the homeowner with a SUMMONS on XX/XX/XXXX. When the homeowner made an inquiry to the lender, the lender could not answer the reason for the summons. The homeowner needs an explanation.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation