This just in from the boring-sounding but totally encouraging news department! Ocwen Financial Corporation, the nation’s fourth-largest mortgage servicer, has agreed to a $2 billion settlement with a group of state attorneys general and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And according to a quick King County Records search, Ocwen’s been involved in carrying out thousands of foreclosures around here.
In a press release, Washington state attorney general Bob Ferguson says part of the settlement includes a whopping $49 million in principal reduction (essentially debt relief on a home loan) for “troubled borrowers” in the state. Not only that, 3,637 folks who lost their homes to foreclosures serviced by Ocwen in Washington are eligible for cash payments “projected to exceed $1,000” apiece.
Here’s all the crap that Ocwen inflicted on homeowners, according to Ferguson:
Failing to timely and accurately apply payments made by borrowers and failing to maintain accurate account statements;
Charging unauthorized fees for default-related services;
Providing false or misleading information to borrowers regarding loans that had been transferred from other mortgage servicers;
Failing to provide accurate and timely information to borrowers who sought information about loss mitigation services, including loan modifications;
Improperly denying loan modification relief to eligible borrowers;
Providing false or misleading reasons for denial of loan modifications;
Failing to honor in-process trial modifications agreed to by prior servicers on transferred loans; and
‘Robo-signing’ affidavits in foreclosure proceedings, where an employee signed thousands of documents and affidavits without verifying the information contained in the document or affidavit.
“We must continue our work to ensure mortgage servicers play by the rules and treat borrowers fairly,” Ferguson says. If you think you qualify for payments under this settlement, you should e-mail ConsumerRelief@Ocwen.com.
The state’s attorney general is delivering principal reduction to (a fraction of) those who’ve been wrongly foreclosed on by the banks. Can the Seattle City Council do the same?