Lawsuit, Media Intervention Force Loan Servicer To Backpeddle On Home Foreclosure Of Elderly Widow Who Was Current On Loan Modification Payment Plan

In Apache Junction, Arizona, KNXV-TV Channel 15 reports:

• Eighty-three-year old Harriet Black has owned a rural home in Apache Junction since 1976, but in March she was served an eviction notice. "I don't have anywhere to go," she said. The problems all stem from mistakes with a mortgage modification.

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• She worked with a mortgage service provider to get a modified mortgage agreement that was finalized in January. Or so she thought. Black's son made payments on her behalf for $822, the reduced amount agreed upon in the modification. Before that her payments werer near $1,800 per month. Despite the payments, the bank foreclosed on the property in February and an eviction hearing was set in the courts.
• The Consumer Law Group filed a suit on her behalf Wednesday alleging the bank Deutsche Bank and mortgage servicer Ocwen wrongfully and unlawfully foreclosed. The suit filed in Pinal County included exhibits showing on-time payments since January.
• We contacted Paul Koches, the Executive Vice President of Ocwen to get some answers. In less than a day, Koches was able to find the problem. He explained that Harriet was actually making payments on the wrong modification agreement. Therefore the valid one was going unpaid which paved the way for foreclosure.
• He acknowledged the problem as a mistake by all parties and said that steps will be taken to rescind the foreclosure and reinstate the agreement so Harriet can remain in her home.

For the story, see Apache Junction woman nearly evicted over mortgage confusion.