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Option One Mortgage Corp.

Irvine, CA

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Luis of Tx, TX March 17, 2008

Luis of Tx TX (03/17/08)
I have a loan with Option One, and it is current at the moment.  For the past two months they have charged me 100.08 on late fees and 25 for foreclosure fees.  This is the second month they have charged me this money.

I call the company, and they say I have to pay the money again--because that is the way it is in their system.  My account is current, and they refuse to explain why they charge me these fees.  Please help!

Theresa of Olympia, WA March 16, 2008

Theresa of Olympia WA (03/16/08)
I am writing on behalf of my brother, who I am helping, with his permission. He lives in Washington and works in the construction industry. In December of 2007 there was massive flooding in the area where he lives and a State of Emergency was declared. Fortunately he lives on higher ground and his house was spared. He jumped in and worked from morning till night 7 days a week for 2 months helping to restore the damaged homes and businesses. Unfortunately he was not paid for any of this for over 2 months and couldn't make the house payments on time.

At the beginning of the third month he sent in the late house payments. Option One SENT THEM BACK saying his house had gone into foreclosure ONE DAY BEFORE the payments had arrived! He is guilty of not calling them enough and conveying what was going on, but frankly, would it have been of any use? I called and called, constantly getting India, asked for Irvine, never got Irvine, got Florida 2X. The conversations went in circles as if they were reading a script. Could not get anything negotiated, accomplished, etc. Used up all my cell phone minutes. I live in southern California, SO I DROVE TO IRVINE, went into the corporate headquarters and asked to speak to someone in person. The person I spoke to was very nice and put everything on hold for a month. But she could not subtract the extra fees caused by putting it into foreclosure, which is what I asked for. She gave us papers to fill out for a loan modification. The loan currently has AN INTEREST RATE OF 11%!! And payments of 1230 on a 97,000 loan!

So I am going back in there on Monday, 3/17/08. I called Hope Now and have some questions to ask Option One about their policies and the time line for putting this house into foreclosure. I'll give them the back payments and the loan modification forms. I'll update this as it goes along. They are a nightmare to work with. YES, OPTION ONE NEEDS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT brought against them. Just ask my brother. This is the 2nd time they have put his house into foreclosure without the bat of an eye.

Richard of Pearland, TX March 14, 2008

Richard of Pearland TX (03/14/08)
Option one is by far the absolutely most impossible organization to deal with. I was laid off from work and contacted them the same day that I was laid off to let them know that I am anticipating payment problems in the future due to the loss of income. (I was current at the time my employment was ended).I spoke with someone (sounded like he was from India) in their home retention department. At this time I was advised that loan modification was an option and they asked me to submit documents to them explaining my hardship. I later obtained employment, but was not able to earn a similar salary due to career transition. I advised them of this.

After 4 months of faxes and phone calls, I had to call the corporate office in California, only to be told that they cannot modify my loan because my income was too low! Huh? Isn't the purpose of loan modification is to help those who need to lower payments to avoid foreclosure? Does anyone out there have experience in Real Estate Law? If so, couldn't that be considered a predatory lending practice? Please email me a brief summary of your experience with OOMC. I have corporate office contact informaiton and I will distribute this information to their executives.

Fortunately, I was able to negotiate wiht my 2nd loan provider, and all of my other creditors to lower payments, and I consolidated a few loans. If I was not successful at that, we would have gone through foreclosure or had to sell our home.

Deberah of Dallas, TX March 13, 2008

Deberah of Dallas TX (03/13/08)
I asked for a loan modification. I was told to send in financial information and also informed that my home is scheduled for foreclosure sale May 6, 2008....

I have been stressed for five years dealing with Option One. I filed bankruptcy in 2000 and completed Chapter 13, only to be informed by Option One that I had not paid them enough. They put me back into foreclosure which made me have to file bankruptcy again to save my home. Now I find out that none of my mortgage payments have been applied to my loan sine June 2006. Where are my payments, and why are they still attempting to set me on the streets? Will somebody please file a class action lawsuit against this crooked company?

Mary of Waterford, NY March 12, 2008

Mary of Waterford NY (03/12/08)
I agree with previous posts about OOMC harassing clients if they don't have their payment to them by the first of the month - even though there is a 15-day period before the payment assesses late fees. I have even called to ask a question on the last day of the month and am asked when I am going to pay the following months payment. NOW, they have notified me that they have changed their policy regarding flood insurance coverage. Previously, you were only required to have flood insurance for the amount you owe on your mortgage. They are now requiring you insure for the replacement value of your home listed on your homeowners insurance. They are actually getting 90-day binders for the difference and charging your escrow account. I received no advance notification from them when they changed this policy. In my case it requires me to have a flood insurance policy for 156,000.00 when I only owe approx. 72,000.00 on my mortgage.

I have spoken with FEMA & NIFTA and they referred my to their flood insurance guidelines which mention the lesser of the two: 1. the amount of the mortgage OR 2. the replacement value of the home. This really is unfair for Option One to demand, as this increases my costs sharply when I am obligated to them for less than 1/2 of the replacement value. I understand that Wells Fargo has also taken this stand.

This is a sharp increase in costs to homeowner especially those retired and/or on fixed incomes.

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