Consumer complaint received 2022-05-15
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: Onity Group Inc. (OR)

The house I live in is scheduled for a XXXX XXXX XXXX sale on XX/XX/XXXX. The property title was transferred to me by Bargain and Sale Deed and recorded in the county register in XXXX by the company that purchased it from the original owners bankruptcy estate several years ago. The mortgage is securitized with MERS originally named as a beneficiary, and a long history of judicial foreclosure proceedings since the first default in XXXX. The note was reassigned and reconveyed according to county records but said reconveyance was rescinded at the request of XXXX XXXX. At one point the court actually dismissed the case, but due to the lack of response of the part of the named defendants at the time, the banks motioned to continue and apparently the judge granted the continuance. My initial contact with PHH in XXXX appears to have accelerated their pursuit of judicial foreclosure, as the dormant XXXX Bank case was resumed shortly afterward and the notice of XXXX sale was posted not long after that. 

Since I am not named on the mortgage account nor the writ of foreclosure, and I am not related to the original borrowers nor have they provided a release of information in my name, the servicer has not acknowledged me as a successor in interest in spite of my ownership interest in the house. After contacting PHH by phone, I faxed my deed to the appropriate department as instructed. In their response dated XX/XX/XXXX, they demand authorization from the original borrows to discuss the mortgage account with me. The letter implies that I am attempting to assume the loan, however I simply wish to confirm my status as successor in interest in order to submit an application for mortgage assistance due to a period of Covid related underemployment. I also sent verification of my homeowners insurance to the appropriate email address as instructed by their phone agent. Since then, they have renewed the forced insurance on the property without acknowledging my coverage. At any rate, I am new on the scene but have rights as I hold title to the house and as such I have a beneficial interest at stake. 

My primary concern at the moment is to postpone the auction of my home to allow more time to prepare a defense against foreclosure. I am pursuing multiple avenues to address this, including XXXX XXXX XXXX and Covid related assistance. I also would like to hold the bank accountable to prove that it actually has the note and can legally enforce this XXXX. However, with a sale date of XX/XX/XXXX, I have little time to focus my energy on even one of these strategies. I am concerned that without being acknowledged as a successor in interest, I will not be able to file for loan modification or Covid assistance, and that there is a potential even my filing bankruptcy wouldnt stop the foreclosure sale at this point. The servicer does not need to disclose any personal information to me about the original borrowers, but they should at least acknowledge my rights as the owner of the property. I have yet to find legal representation or even much advice from anyone with experience in this specific area, so I am doing this myself and gleaning whatever I can from whomever will share some knowledge with me, so I would appreciate anything you can do or say on my behalf.