Consumer complaint received 2017-07-07
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: Onity Group Inc. (MD)

I submitted a loss mitigation application to my mortgage servicer, Ocwen Loan Servicing, to short sale my home when I realized I could not afford to pay for it anymore. I did this in late XXXX after a foreclosure case was still pending against me and the subject Property, which is and has always been at all relevant times and to date my principal residence. <P/>OnXX/XX/XXXX, I received 2 letters from Ocwen -- one stated that my request to short sale the property was approved and gave instructions for submitting an offer and the other letter gave me list price guidance. My attorney who is also my listing broker listed the property in mid-XX/XX/XXXX for the amount advised by Ocwen. It took several months but finally it was necessary to reduce the list price because I was not getting offers. At the time, the property needed repairs estimated as ofXX/XX/XXXXof approximately {$41000.00} ; I also was in serious delinquency on my mortgage payments, but this was well known to Ocwen and the mortgage investor ( claimed to be a private investor ) prior to the approval to do a short sale. Neither of those conditions has changed. Ocwen has been sent the {$41000.00} repair estimated in the summer of XX/XX/XXXXand it was resent again in XX/XX/XXXX after which the 1st short sale approval letter datedXX/XX/XXXX was issued. <P/>After additional BPO appraisals ordered by Ocwen, the price was reduced multiple times and multiple contract purchase offers were submitted but were all rejected because the net proceeds payable to Ocwen were reportedly too low. I was repeated invited to submit another, better offer without any further list price guidance until the Fall of XX/XX/XXXXand then again in XX/XX/XXXX I learned that repeated BPO ( ie, realtor ) appraisals valued the property at {$480000.00}. So I immediately instructed my Listing Broker to lower the list price on the property to encourage a viable contract offer. All the while, and continuing to date, it is extremely important to me that I avoid the harmful effects of a foreclosure sale on the property. Due to significant and numerous other liens that are encumbering the property, I am not eligible to do a Deed in Lieu of foreclosure. So if I knew that if I could n't get a short sale accomplished I would risk my house being sold at foreclosure. <P/>That is why I have worked so diligently and in good faith to cooperate at all times with Ocwen, and I have instructed my attorney/Listing Broker to work so hard to get agreements from the other lien holders, which liens are encumbering the property, to release them so that I can avoid foreclosure. After many months, those lien issues -- subject only to the short sale being consummated -- are able to be resolved for pennies on the dollar. In fact, for less than {$2500.00} I am getting 1 particular lien that is valued at over {$20000.00} paid and satisfied. That is huge to me because I have been struggling to recover after a lengthy prior period of under-employment, and divorce. So I was glad to be able to submit a {$480000.00} short sale offer to Ocwen in earlyXX/XX/XXXX. I was even more delighted when Ocwen sent me a short sale approval letter for that contract on XX/XX/XXXX. <P/>Unfortunately, just 3 days prior to the deadline for closing ( which had to be completed by XX/XX/XXXX per the short sale approval letter conditions ) the deal fell through because the Buyers could not get approved for a loan. The issue was not the house appraising for too little ; in fact those Buyers had 2 separate interior appraisals conducted and that the house appraised " as is '' for the {$480000.00} sale price. I, for my part, had paid movers to remove most of my personal property from the house in anticipation of the closing. It is also noteworthy that I am not even now being allowed any Seller relocation assistance even though when I first made inquiry of Ocwen about that issue in the Fall of XXXX I was told that I was eligibile to receive {$10000.00}. Ocwen later reneged on this and I was told that, according to them, the private investor does not allow any Seller Relocation Assistance. I now realize that I can not trust anything that Ocwen tells me or my attorney/Listing Broker. So I do n't know that I am being told the truth about not being eligible for Seller Relocation Assistance. This is an issue I want firmly addressed as part of my Complaint to your offices. <P/>But, most recently, and more to the point -- after the original approved short sale for {$480000.00} had expired -- Ocwen sent me a letter datedXX/XX/XXXXstating that the prior short sale that had been approved was denied because the deadline for closing had expired onXX/XX/XXXX BUT Ocwen also affirmatively in that same letter invited me to submit another short sale offer. <P/>It is important to note that from prior to the XX/XX/XXXX short sale approval letter and as recently as today, on a bi-weekly basis and more recently on a weekly or less basis, my attorney/Listing Broker has had routine conference calls with my Relationship Manager ( or someone in his absence ), XXXX XXXX ( ID # XXXX ), and all of those conversations let my attorney/Listing Broker and me to understand that I was eligible to submit for final approval a short sale to avoid foreclosure of my home. <P/>Just seven ( 7 ) calendar days after receiving that letter inviting another short sale contract to be submitted, I was able to do so, supplying all required documents. I was fully convinced that it would an effortless process for this new Buyer offer to be accepted because this offer was going to yield to the mortgage investor MORE MINIMUM NET PROCEEDS than the prior Buyer 's offer. <P/>And my attorney/Listing Broker specifically made a point to investigate, then advised me before I executed that offer, to reassure me that the Buyer had been fully vetted as to his FICO score, employment history, income and other relevant factors so that I could be confident, and Ocwen by extension, that this Buyer would not have an issue getting a mortgage loan to by my house ( by the way, this particular contract that I choose was one of 2 new offers presented to me, but I elected it because its terms constituted the highest and best offer received TO DATE ). <P/>On XX/XX/XXXX, another appraisal was done on my house, this time and for the first time by an actual Maryland licensed appraiser, which I again accommodated. Reportedly this was necessary because the prior ( realtor BPO ) appraisal done inXX/XX/XXXX had expired. I reasonably assumed that this was consistent with getting the new short sale approval letter. <P/>OnXX/XX/XXXX after requesting a copy of that appraisal report following the denial of the short sale contract, I learned that the Property appraised " As Is '' for {$470000.00} - that 's {$10000.00} LESS than the short sale contract purchase price at issue. That report contained information suggesting the true FMV was even less, as low as {$400000.00}, with repair estimates at {$20000.00} ( but which failed to accurately reflect all repairs needed. <P/>At no time was I or my attorney/Listing Broker ever told that another short sale contract would be denied because time had run out to do a short sale. Certainly at no time from the initial approval letter sent by Ocwen in XX/XX/XXXX to date have I ever received any written notice of a deadline to submit a short sale contract. <P/>Yet to my great distress and frustration, on XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from Ocwen stating that the pending short sale contract submitted in good faith on XX/XX/XXXX had been denied and the sole reason given was a statement to the effect that the mortgage investor wanted nothing less than to be paid in full!!! <P/>That is completely contrary to theXX/XX/XXXX short sale approval letter AND antithetical to the concept of a short sale!!! <P/>I immediately instructed my attorney/Listing Broker to follow the instructions in that letter to appeal the decision. My attorney/Listing Broker immediately called Ocwen and was told that the private investor was declining the offer due to the serious delinquency of the mortgage ( which has been true for years ) and the condition of the property ( which has also been true for years ). This to me was not a good faith answer. <P/>When asked, the Ocwen rep claimed that despite the fact that Ocwen knows the mortgage investor short sale guidelines, that Ocwen had no way to know that the investor would decline the latest short sale. I also find that representation wholly implausible. <P/>The formal email to Ocwen 's Liquidations Appeal department was sent on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX with all supporting documentation and additional reasons for my appeal. <P/>On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, my attorney/Listing Broker called Ocwen to inquire as to status and was transferred to Ocwen 's " Ombudsman 's '' department where a conversation with XXXX XXXX resulted in an acknowledgement of the oddity of the current status of the short sale and a promise to make further inquiries and respond back by phone no later than Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX. My Attorney/Listing Broker advised, with my permission, that I would hold off filing a complaint with your offices and the Maryland Attorney General 's office as a professional courtesy and on the reasonable expectation that Ocwen and the mortgage investor would do the right thing based on the history of all relevant facts to date, and reverse their denial letter so that I could avoid foreclosure. <P/>It is also extremely important to me that the Buyer be able to buy my house. I acted in good faith marketing it as a short sale that I was ready, willing and able to consummate, and this action by Ocwen and the investor not only makes it appear as if I have breached our agreement, but that I have mislead the Buyer. <P/>On XX/XX/XXXX, I received another short sale denial letter, which other than the date on the letter was identical to that which was received on XX/XX/XXXX. No clarification as to whether or not this was a response to my appeal was given. Just another insufficiently inaccurate form letter from Ocwen. <P/>I also learned that there appears to have been confusion about who the new Buyer was because Ocwen reps, including my Relationship Manager and then XXXX XXXX who took my attorney 's call on XX/XX/XXXX variously asked the name of the Buyer for the latest offer. This just shows how confused and untrustworthy the communications on my behalf with my Attorney/Listing Broker and Ocwen reps have been. How can they not clearly know whose contract was presented to them and have to ask those questions? <P/>OnXX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX contacted my attorney/Listing Broker and I then learned that XXXX XXXX claimed that the mortgage investor said that it was too late to do a short sale, and that that decision is within the investor 's discretion. This is now yet a new excuse for denying the short sale that was never given before. Thus, you understand my complete and utter distrust of Ocwen in connection with communicating the true nature of the current dispute and the reasons given for it. <P/>Earlier today, XX/XX/XXXX, my attorney/Listing Broker received the pre-scheduled weekly call from XXXX ( covering for the Relationship Manager, XXXX XXXX ). at which time XXXX stated that the file " was in active short sale status. '' When it was pointed out that this property was the subject of a recent short sale denial letter on appeal and that the decision was based on essentially being told " too late, times up, and we want all our money '' the response back from XXXX was " the file is still under review. '' Before that call, my Attorney/Listing Attorney had already reached out to the Buyer 's realtor and mortgage loan officer to advise on the adverse status of the short sale negotiations and to clarify the amount of actual time that the Buyer would need to get mortgage funding approval to close the short sale contract ( which was previously stated to be 3 weeks after receiving the short sale approval letter ). After the call with XXXX concluded with a statement that he did not know when a final decision on the appeal would be made, I learned that the Buyer 's loan is now far enough in the process that the Buyer can close in 2 weeks or less, subject only to receipt of a short sale approval letter, and the title company ( re-evaluating ) the title work needed to issue title insurance. <P/>My Attorney/Listing Broker emailed the Ocwen Liquidation Appeals department memorializing the conversation with XXXX and giving this updated information. Up to this point, I was cautiously optimistic that Ocwen and the investor would realize their error and fix the problem without litigation, which I am fully prepared to undertake -- ON PRINCIPLE and not just because as a consumer I am appalled at how this short sale has so quickly deteriorated into a problem to be resolved!! <P/>When my Attorney initiated an investigation earlier this afternoon to determine whether a foreclosure sale date is set for my house, I learned that the XX/XX/XXXX ( yes, that 's the right year ) foreclosure case has been administratively closed by the Court in which it was filed as of XX/XX/XXXX due to " lack of prosecution '' meaning that this is just another reason why better for the investor and me to complete the pending short sale contract. <P/>I am asking for the assistance of the CFPB to resolve this matter ASAP so that I can keep my end of the bargain with the present Buyer before that Buyer decides to walk away and I am left more seriously and negatively impacted -- personally, emotionally and financially. <P/>Copies of all relevant emails and attachments to those emails are being provided here.