Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 7,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.
That's the case with a recent client of ours who retained us to help them avoid foreclosure. To protect their privacy, let's call this couple the Livelys. The Livelys have a home in Bronx County, New York and they fell behind on their mortgage payments in August of 2013.
Since they wanted to keep their home, but didn't have the massive amount of cash ($91,251.00) needed to reinstate their loan, the Livelys applied for a loan modification which, if successful, would have gotten their loan back to normal and eliminated the threat of foreclosure. They submitted an RMA (Request for Modification Assistance) to Ocwen, their mortgage loan servicer.
But like so many homeowners who try applying for a loan modification on their own, the Livelys' application was denied. Fail.
But the Livelys didn't give up. They retained us in February of 2016. We appealed the denial of their loan modification application and started appearing on their behalf at settlement conferences with the bank's attorney and a court appointed referee. (The homeowners had already been to three settlement conferences on their own and had not achieved the results they wanted.)
BNY Mellon, the trustee suing the Livelys, said they were too far delinquent to be given a modification they could afford. The bank claimed their pooling and servicing agreement has a restriction against giving loan modifications to borrowers as delinquent as the Livelys. Our attorney asked that the bank show some proof that such a restriction exists, and if it does, to also prove that it's not possible to get a waiver from the restriction. We also asked for the settlement conference to be adjourned, which it was.
We've been to three settlement conferences for the Livelys and have one more scheduled. As of this writing, the bank has not shown evidence to support their claims about their pooling and servicing agreement.
If, at the next settlement conference, the bank can't prove their claims, a loan modification could be forthcoming or the bank could come up with another reason to deny the application, which we would fight accordingly.
We're forcing the bank to go through all the steps necessary to service a loan in default and to show proof for for each one of its claims.
Now, while we're demanding the bank shows proof that it has a policy against modifying the loans of people in the Lively's situation, they remain in their home and aren't making mortgage payments.
It is possible that the Livelys will not be able to get a loan modification or keep their home. No one can be guaranteed that they can. But, with us representing them, they will have the best odds of getting what they want. We're doing what an attorney is supposed to do, and that's to keep the other side honest and advocate for our client. In the case of the Livelys, although they don't yet have a permanent solution, our efforts are having an effect. Their case is arrested in the settlement process and has not progressed to litigation and foreclosure.
The time an experienced attorney can get for a homeowner can allow them to save a lot of money and be in the best position possible no matter the outcome of their case. And having an attorney on your side gives you the peace of mind of knowing that all options are being pursued to the fullest and that all of your rights are being aggressively asserted. That's something you don't get from trying to navigate the often complex foreclosure process on your own.
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