Consumer complaint received 2015-07-09
Product: Mortgage — Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account — 
Company: Onity Group Inc. (AZ)

My situation is that I have a XXXX and XXXX mortgage that has ended up at Ocwen. I purchased the home in XX/XX/XXXX before the housing bubble burst. My house is located in XXXX, AZ, where I earn a modest income for a single parent home with XXXX child under the age of XXXX and another that I am helping to get through college ( XXXX years old ). My house is under water by about {$20000.00}. Even with that, I do n't believe that the house would appraise at the estimated value. I have explored refinancing but have had no luck. I do not qualify for any of the government programs since it is not a XXXX or XXXX. I chose to go conventional and did not take any of the " low '' interest loans because I felt that they were to good to be true, so my XXXX is at 7.5 % and my second is at 9.75 %. I was working XXXX hours at night and through the weekend which gave me differentials on my hours, however, this took a tole on my youngest so when he entered XXXX, I chose a significant pay cut to go to a day shift at only XXXX hours a week. I have managed to maintain my mortgage payments, but now OCWEN is requiring that I pay full " replacement '' cost for flood insurance for my home which was rezoned into an " XXXX '' from a moderate risk area. This is to the tune of approximately $ XXXX, more than XXXX my hazard insurance rate. If we put this into a 20 year perspective, I 'm being asked for about {$60000.00} more for a mortgage that I 'm am trying to hang onto even though it 's probably a stupid financial decision, but for stability for my son who is going into XXXX this year, I thought this more important. I do not have any savings, since I used it as a downpayment on my house in XX/XX/XXXX which quickly evaporated into air. Therefore, the {$2000.00} they 're asking will have to go onto a credit card which will add more monthly stress as far as paying bills. My yearly gross income is approx. {$80000.00} out of which I pay Health, Dental, and Eye insurance, and a variety of other debts and utilities. My house was built in XX/XX/XXXX and has many maintenance issues which I have been slowly trying to address but since I ca n't qualify for an equity loan ... ... well you see my point. Is it possible I 'm being forced out in order for Ocwen to acquire the property for other possible reasons, i.e. to raze the house and put up rentals which are popular in this area because it is close to the University? Who knows. All I know is that even with all it 's faults, I love this house and had hoped to live here until my final days. I played by the rules, not taking a subprime mortgage so that I would be able to pay throughout the life of the loan, given my income at the time and assuming I would be able to continue working in a somewhat steady field ( I am a XXXX with over 30 years experience ). I am employing a surveyor to hopefully qualify for an Elevation Certificate ( {$600.00} for survey, then another {$65.00} and change if the property qualifies for the certificate ). But, this is a gamble as I have no idea what are the qualification criteria. You may understand that even {$600.00} for me is a stressful amount. Does anyone have any advise for me????? I fear that without the Elevation Certificate I will be forced to walk away and all the money that I have put into this house ( mostly mortgage and downpayment ) will have just been a financial catastrophe for me. I do believe that within time, this area will continue to recover, but it will take time that I may be forced into giving up. Is this my only option????? Or is this just a " too bad, so sad, would n't wan na be ya '' situation with no options? I have to say, it 's really hard to explain to my son that everything will work out OK, when he sees me crying about this situation that in his mind, all he 's seen is me working all hours of the night and day to help try to preserve a dream, " the American Dream.