Option One Mortgage Predatory Lending or Cherry Picking Ripoff Internet

3 years ago I financed an investment property with Option One. The mortgage was a 3-yr ARM. So, in Sept '06 the interest rate increased. I contacted Option One and told them that the interest rate was too high (as a letter I had received from them told me to contact them if I was going to have difficulty making the payment). They asked me if I was interested in refinancing to see if they could get the rate lower. I went throught the refi process (which took several months because my loan processor quite and my file got lost and then there was a problem with the appraisal which I had to file a rebuttal to, etc). Anyway, on February 27, 2007 I closed on the refi. Around this same time, I was 30-days away from opening a small business that has been a dream of mine for many years. Therefore, my husband took over the paying of our bills; which we have many because we have 10 investment properties.

On July 3, 2007, I was hand delivered at my personal residence a "Complaint for Foreclosure". My immediate reaction was this has to be a mistake. I started looking over the paperwork and about 15 minutes into it my husband came home from work. I said there has got to be a mistake and handed him the paperwork. We were both dumbfounded. We started researching and realized that the Complaint for Foreclosure was on the property that we had refinanced in February. I asked him why he hadn't paid it and he said he hadn't received a mortgage statement and had not realized that we had not received one. I called Option One. They informed me that they mailed the mortgage statements to the property address. When I asked why they said because that was the address on the closing documents. This is a FLAT OUT LIE! I looked at the closing documents the property address as well as my personal address are both on those closing documents. In addition, the loan application that I filled out specifically asked for an address if the MAILING ADDRESS was DIFFERENT than the billing address. I filled that information out but Option One chose to ignore it. Furthermore, my husband contacted the tenant that lives at the property. She said she never got any mail that was addressed to me!

I find it VERY INTERESTING that for 3 years Option One was sending the statements to the right address but when I refinance the loan they send it to a totally different address (not to mention that the loan papers state that this is a NON OWNER OCCUPIED LOAN (DUH!).

Oh, and let's not forget that I have another mortgage with Option One (for 5 years now) and they send that mortgage statement to the right address. The two loans share my name and social security number - I know because when I would call them both loans would come up and they would have to ask me which loan I was calling about. I am puzzled as to why Option One did not see a RED FLAG and say hey we where sending this to a different address before the refi and we don't send her other mortgage statement to the property address, maybe someone should call to verify that we are sending it to the right place. OH! CALL ME - no I NEVER received one phone call about being late. Even though they verified that they had a correct number on file. I fine that interesting because if I am one day late paying my other mortgages (even if my grace period has not expired) they are blowing up my phone.

Anyway, I contacted them. I was know 4 months behind plus $90 something dollars in late charges and a BPO charge but here is the kicker...$2500 in attorney fees. Well, obviously I had the 4 months of mortgages because the tenants rents had gone into the checking account and were sitting there since no payments had been made. (Which, yes if my husband and I didn't both have full time jobs plus 10 rental properties but a small business then we might actually have time to reconcile our accounts - but who reconciles their checkbooks in this day and age anymore?)

The problem was, I didn't have the $2500 to reinstate the loan. So, they gave me a payment plan. I had to send them $2000 now and then double up my mortgage payments for the next 6 months. OK - I can do that (it would be a little tough but that was my only option). Then I get the paperwork from Option One for the Reinstatement /Repayment Plan. I was being charged another 6 months of late fees and 6 BPO fees. I called them and asked why. They said because I would still be late. But, if they AGREED to a repayment plan with me how could I be late if I was making those payments as agreed? Furthermore, I asked if they would continue to report these additional lates on my credit report. They said yes because the money that I was paying would go to attorney fees first, the late fees, then past due payments then current payments. I said YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Interestingly enough, I read over the paperwork they sent me and that IS NOT what the paperwork said. It said that the payments would be applied to the current payment due and a prorated portion would be applied to the past due balance. So, I ask again ---HOW CAN THEY CHARGE AND REPORT ME AS BEING LATE on current payments when I would not be (assuming I sent in my payments on time).

But, let's go back a little bit. My mother recently had two homes foreclosed on (my father passed away and she was left with nothing). Both of these homes went for a year plus of no payments before they were foreclosed on. I know of others that have lived in their homes for 6 months to a year or two before being foreclosed on. So why was mine foreclosed on at 91 days? Becuase I had equity sitting in it. You see when I refinanced the house I only wanted to reduce the interst rate. I didn't take any cash out. In talking to a friend in the business I was told that it is a dirty little thing the banks are doing. If there is equity in the home the banks move quickly so that I can get that equity out buy foreclosing and selling your home. He referred to it as "cherry picking" and it is on the verge of predatory lending but the banks are gettting away with it.
BOTTOM LINE...do these banks not have some responsibility to make sure that the mortgage statements get to the right place. I mean if the mortgage company moved and I didn't get the change of address letter and kept mailing my payment to the wrong address - whose fault would it be? MINE. But yet when I refinanced and provided the with the mailing address and they sent the bill to the wrong address - whose fault was it? MINE (again). Where is THE BANKS RESPONSIBILITY!

Oh, and let's not forget that they did KNOW the right address to send the Complaint For Foreclosure to. They got that one right on the very first try - Doesn't that cause you to raise an eyebrow? And I got a collection call from them just yesterday on what my intentions were with the property? First time in 5 months! Doesn't that raise an eyebrow?

Danita
Cincinnati, Ohio
U.S.A.

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