Consumer complaint received 2018-03-11
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: Onity Group Inc. (NY)

Dear XXXX Representative, My complaint is somewhat convoluted. There are two important aspects to this complaint and I need to premise it with some preliminary details.

1. The first aspect of the complaint is : that I naively and without legal representation, signed a Quick Claim/Deed, XX/XX/XXXX, relinquishing all control of a home that I had jointly purchased with my wife at the time. I question the very ethical, legal and predatory nature of this contract, and the law firm that drafted it and/or counseled my ex-wife to present it to me the way she did- having no present witness and no assurance of legal counsel on my behalf, Drafted by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX NY XXXX. 

What has essentially manifest from this action is that : For the last 11 years, my name has been on a mortgage for which I have no legal ownership of and have been stripped of any decision-making ability and equity concerning the property ( via the quick claim ), but still bear the financial burden and responsibility. I am subject to any outcomes regarding the decisions that are/ and have been made regarding the house/mortgage, i.e. loan modifications. Including, a continued bad credit history report and an inability to essentially finance anything- directly affecting my quality of life and stifling any real growth regarding a start-up business. 

After briefly speaking to an attorney, he expressed concern regarding the way in which the quick deed was signed. He mentioned that quick claims are typically signed at the time of refinancing, not signed with some future promise of refinancing. 

Said house is presently in pre-foreclosure, with a foreclosure sale date scheduled sometime in XX/XX/XXXX. We, ( we shall mean myself and my ex-wife ), are currently in the process of trying to facilitate a short sale of said house with the help from XXXX XXXX XXXX and an attorney at XXXX XXXX XXXX. Ill explain further the history, and how this correlates to the next aspect of the complaint below. 

2. The second aspect of the complaint is that : I question the practices of Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, representing or affiliated with XXXX XXXX   XXXX XXXX XXXX, trustee for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, in terms of fairness and transparency. 
I cant speak directly for, or on behalf of my ex-wife, but she did recently disclose to me that Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC. coerced her into leaving the property long before a foreclosure sale date, among other suspect practices. Its possible that she might be willing to cooperate and/or show documentation regarding an investigation. 

Please make note and understand that I have not lived in or set foot on said property since XXXX of XXXX. We, ( my ex-wife and I ) are not on speaking terms accept for legal or real estate matters. 

The Back story as it pertains to the complaint : My ex-wife and I were married XX/XX/XXXX. We signed the deed on our new house XX/XX/XXXX. Two months later in XXXX of XXXX, she ( my ex-wife ), had a change of heart and chose to dissolve our relationship and consequently our marriage. Not being able to afford an apartment on my own I stayed in the house for a few months, leaving the premises in XXXX of XXXX. 

We made an agreement that approximately one year after I signed the quick deed on XX/XX/XXXX, that ( she ), my ex-wife, would refinance the house ; thereby removing my name from the mortgage, assuring me that she could and would continue to make the mortgage payments on her own and on time. She quickly fell short on this promise. 
XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX transfer of real estate settlement to Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC Though I had no executive decision-making ability regarding the house, I was still getting paperwork/ documentation on occasion from the mortgage company and was still able to access my online account which at the time was through XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX I was aware that my ex-wife was behind on mortgage payments. Around XXXX, both of us, separately, and on multiple occasions tried to get XXXX to do a short sale. It never happened. We had buyers that were willing to purchase the home over the original purchase price however, XXXX dragged their feet and ultimately refused on every occasion. 

I received a notice for a transfer of real estate settlement procedures XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX to Ocwen. 

A loan modification was granted without my signature. signed XX/XX/XXXX. I was contacted by my ex-wife, requesting my signature for this modification, which I refused and did not sign. The modification happened anyway. I have a copy of it, signed XX/XX/XXXX, with her signature only. I question the legality of this. 

Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX, Ive been remarried now for 9 years, I have a family, Ive been trying to start a business, Ive been making a concerted effort to take control and master the financial aspects of my life. But in every domain this mortgage/ looming foreclosure continues to have a tremendous negative impact on anything I attempt financially. 

After recently presenting my business plan to a commercial bank and disclosing that my name was on the mortgage of a home in pre-foreclosure, I quickly realized there would be no chance of acquiring any kind of financing with a house in pre-foreclosure and/or any of this on my credit report. I took immediate action. 

Up to this point I thought that I had no recourse whatsoever ; no legal recourse regarding the quick claim and no way of facilitating a short sale. I assumed that foreclosure was my only option and hoped it would happen swiftly, so I could at least have some new starting point even if that meant another seven years. 

With a new sense of urgency, I contacted a lawyer. He gave me the name of a real estate agent that specializes in short sales. Since then, the real estate agent and an attorney from the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX has been in communication with the mortgage company to short sell the house.