Consumer complaint received 2017-03-17
Company: Ocwen Financial Corporation
State: NJ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional adjustable mortgage (ARM)
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure

Complaint:
My mortgage loan has transferred to Ocwen and I have run into nothing but problems dealing with them. I never received a formal notice that the loan was transferred and several months passed before I realized the change in servicers. I have struggled due to loss of job and have tried to engage the loss mitigation department at Ocwen but have dealt with customer agents who speak very poor XXXX who are hard to understand. I have dealt with people giving me conflicting information and receive conflicting letters regarding what options may be available for me to save my house. Now Ocwen is trying to sell my home at auction and I have had to take extraordinary measures to stop this from happening. I have owned my home for 18 years and feel that Ocwen is not being straight with me or giving me a chance to fix this problem. 

I feel I was misled from the beginning when I took out this loan. I had refinanced in XX/XX/XXXX into a bad adjustable rate loan with an interest rate of 9.95 % and then just five months later the same people at XXXX steered me into a NEW adjustable rate loan. They made it seem like a good deal at the time but I did not realize they were slamming me with points and junk fees and a bad loan with a rate starting at 9.9 % that could go up to 13.9 %. I feel they steered me into these predatory loans so that they could keep me refinancing over and over as property values were going up in order to maximize their points and fees. 

When the recession hit in XX/XX/XXXX I was in a tough spot. I worked in XXXX and lost my job, and then was in and out of work for a couple of years. At the same time my mortgage had adjusted and the payment went up and due to these two factors I began missing payments. Eventually the loan was transferred to Litton Loans and my job situation stabilized and I reached out in hopes that I could be reviewed for a loan modification. I went through the ringer with Litton, submitting and resubmitting my information on multiple occasions and never making any progress. It was beyond frustrating, because at that I time I was making good money and wanted to resolve my mortgage problem. Unfortunately I never was able to actually get reviewed. 

I then found that the loan had been transferred to Ocwen ( several months after the transfer actually occurred! ). I call in and speak with agents who tell me that I am eligible for loan modification options and receive letters that say the same thing. But when I apply and send the paperwork in I receive a response letter that there are no options available except for short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. There is no explanation as to why these are the only options available, the letter just says that is the way it is. Then when I call in I am invited to apply for modification again and then I receive new letters that tell me to apply for modification. So it is like I am on a hamster wheel going round and round and making no progress and getting no answers. 

At this time I am unemployed, but have an unemployment hearing coming up in a couple of weeks. I believe there are programs available that allow homeowners who are unemployed to defer payments or receive some type of forbearance plan while waiting for benefit approval. Why have I not been considered for any of these types of programs? Why has Ocwen been so difficult to deal with and not given any straight answers? Why is Ocwen trying to sell my home without at least giving me the option to fix this problem?

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation