Maryland and Ocwen Team Up to Curb State’s Foreclosures

""Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland"":http://www.gov.state.md.us/ and ""Ocwen Financial Corporation"":http://www.ocwen.com, a servicer of subprime mortgages, have signed a compact that is designed to reduce foreclosures and keep Maryland homeowners in their homes.
The compact builds on Ocwen’s approach to reducing foreclosures through a technology-enhanced program of modifying loans that are delinquent or at risk of becoming delinquent. In September, ""%{=FONT-STYLE: italic}DSNews.com% reported"":http://dsnews.comview_story.cfmxid=2860 that Ocwen's program contributed to a decline in second quarter delinquencies on mortgages serviced by the company. Ocwen services approximately 341,000 mortgages - 7,072 in Maryland - 85 percent of which are subprime.
The agreement states that ""…Maryland recognizes Ocwen’s leadership in the mortgage industry in its continuing commitment to avoiding foreclosure and preserving homeownership wherever possible,"" and in it Ocwen and the state of Maryland agreed ""to establishing a streamlined, timely and meaningful loss mitigation process for Maryland homeowners.""
Ocwen’s president, Ronald M. Faris, said, ""We’re very happy that the state of Maryland is advancing our strongly held view that by preventing foreclosures, we create win-win solutions for everyone: the homeowner is able to stay in the home; lenders and investors continue to receive income; and communities remain healthy. It’s productive to work hand in hand with a state government to formalize a commitment and approach to foreclosure prevention and loan modifications.""
Faris said that the Maryland compact could be a model for other states to follow. The whole country will benefit, he said, if more governors and states take similar actions.
%{=FONT-STYLE: italic; TEXT-DECORATION: underline}In their compact, the state of Maryland and Ocwen have agreed to: %
- Make every effort to identify workable solutions short of foreclosure so that as many homeowners as possible can remain in their homes.
- Designate selected Ocwen home retention consultants as ""Team Maryland"" to serve homeowners who are working with the state’s Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Network.
- Communicate the decision regarding the nature and extent of the loss mitigation offer to the homeowners quickly.
- Accept a letter of commitment for homeowner assistance from Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development ""Bridge to Hope Loan program"":http://www.mdhope.org/ as an initial payment in a loan modification (if one is required).
- Participate in outreach efforts by attending local Maryland events coordinated to assist homeowners in need.
Anne Balcer Norton, director of foreclosure prevention at the ""St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center Inc."":http://www.stambros.org/ in Baltimore, is just one of the state's agents that is participating in the new program. Norton said, ""Ocwen has provided our counselors clear instructions for the submission of loss mitigation packages in an effort to expedite the loss mitigation process…The streamlined process for submission of workout requests coupled with a direct point of contact has resulted in successful workouts for St. Ambrose clients.""
Added Robert Strupp of the Baltimore-based ""Community Law Center"":http://www.communitylaw.org, ""We have found that Ocwen makes a concerted effort to work with their customers, and to avoid foreclosure when possible…We are very grateful for the support Ocwen Financial Corporation has offered to our work.""
Since the onset of the subprime meltdown, Ocwen has increased its home retention consultant staff by 65 percent. So far this year, the company has achieved loan workouts avoiding foreclosures for approximately 55,000 homes around the country.
""We are proud to have helped so many American families during this crisis,"" said Margery Rotundo, Ocwen’s SVP in charge of loss mitigation operations. ""If a customer has the ability and desire to make payments and is responsive to our communication attempts, there truly are not many homeowners we cannot help. With our technology, we remain the leader in loss mitigation, and we hope that others in the industry will follow.""
Ocwen relies on robust and scalable technology - largely developed in-house - to manage its large and challenging subprime portfolio which includes an aggregate unpaid balance of $42 billion. Ocwen’s proprietary software and expert systems allow it to identify and reach at-risk borrowers, structure customized payment plans and loan modifications and prevent foreclosures - keeping homeowners in their homes and preserving income for lenders and investors.
Rotundo points out that successfully mitigating the effects of the mortgage crisis also relies on servicer cooperation with community and government groups that are committed to helping homeowners in trouble. Ocwen has worked closely with a number of such groups, including the ""National Fair Housing Alliance"":http://www.nationalfairhousing.org/ (NFHA), the ""HOPE NOW Alliance"":http://www.hopenow.com, Empowering & Strengthening Ohio’s People (""ESOP"":http://www.esop-cleveland.org/), ""National Council of La Raza"":http://www.nclr.org/, ""South Brooklyn Legal Services"":http://www.sbls.org/, ""Homeownership Preservation Foundation"":http://www.995hope.org/, ""Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America"":http://www.naca.com/, ""Homes on the Hill"":http://www.hoth-cdc.org/, ""Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago"":http://www.nhschicago.org/, and ""Dominion Community Development Corp."":http://www.houstontx.gov/houstonhope/started.html