Foreclosure and Loan Modification Blog

Loan Modification Success: 20 Months Past Due with Ocwen? No Problem

Written by Jake Sterling | Sunday, December 8, 2013

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 5,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

Would you believe that there are actually critics who blame homeowners for the foreclosure crisis? These critics are so detached from real life that they forget to project a human face onto the numbers. Nobody wants to lose their home to foreclosure; the foreclosure crisis was comprised of a lot of people who faced extenuating circumstances (including unfair mortgage lending) that caused them to lose their homes.

Several Hardships Led to Foreclosure

The New York homeowner in our story certainly faced extenuating circumstances of his own. His family had faced death within the family, and was also enduring the financial effects of serious extended sickness. He was no longer able to pay his $786 payment to GMAC (his loan was eventually sold to Ocwen Financial) on his home that he and his wife shared, and was over 8 months behind and far into the foreclosure process by the time he and his wife retained us.

As if to add insult to injury, the homeowner's interest rate was an astronomical 9.0% (his home loan was one of the infamous adjustable-rate loans that played a large part in starting the mortgage crisis), and the homeowner had been planning to retire in early 2013 for years; this now seemed like a bleak prospect. The homeowner retained us in late 2012, and our home retention department began working with he and his wife to compile a loan modification package. Simultaneously, our legal team began to prepare a legal defense for the homeowner.

It took the homeowner until May 2013 for him to gather all the documents needed for us to complete his loan modification package, and once we submitted his package, Ocwen took several weeks to review his file.. In mid-June 2013, the homeowner was finally approved for a trial loan modification. Under the terms of this trial modification, he would have to pay 3 trial payments of $635.06. If he satisfied the requirements of the trial mortgage modification, then he would be approved for a final loan modification. 

Retiring in Style

After the homeowner finished paying his trial payments, it took an entire month before his file finished review for a permanent loan modification. Finally, in late October 2013, he received a permanent loan modification from Ocwen after falling 20 payments and over $17,000 behind.  His new monthly payment would be $635.06, and his interest rate would be permanently fixed at 4.5%. His principal balance would be slashed by $19,000 if he upheld the terms of the mortgage payment. Our attorneys were now free to dismiss the homeowner's foreclosure case so he could enjoy his retirement in peace.

Ocwen Permanent Loan Modification Overview

October 2013BeforeAfter
Monthly Payment $786.00

$635.00

Interest Rate 8.35%

4.50%

Foreclosure 20 Payments Past Due Foreclosure to be dismissed
Benefits to Homeowner ✓ $19,000 Principal forgiveness, $3,755.49 in fees waived.
✓ Monthly payment reduced by 20%

This is an example of why it's so important to hire an experienced foreclosure defense law firm if you are in danger of losing your home. No one would request an inexperienced technician to work on their car or an inexperienced doctor to work on their body- so don't do the same with your home.

Read about other loan modification success stories, or browse hundreds of other loan modification case results.