OneWest Bank "Shared Loss" Agreement With Feds Leads To Screwing Over Borrowers Seeking Loan Modifications, Says Attorney For Couple Facing F'closure

In Elk Grove, California, News10.net reports:

• A couple facing foreclosure from OneWest Bank has joined the growing number of homeowners, attorneys and real estate professionals who believe the bank would rather foreclose than modify a loan. [...] The Cravalhos said their original lender, IndyMac Bank, agreed to a loan modification in the summer of 2008 that would have offered them a 3 percent interest rate for five years. But then IndyMac was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which sold the bank's assets to a group of investors who formed OneWest Bank in March 2009. Tom Cravalho said OneWest Bank has refused to honor the original agreement or discuss new terms.

• The Cravalhos' attorney believes OneWest is more interested in reimbursement from the FDIC for the bad loan under a so-called "shared loss" agreement than it is in modifying the Cravalhos' mortgage. "They're going to make a lot more money getting Tom and Mona out of their house than they would leaving them in their house. A lot more money," said attorney Sean Gjerde. Gjerde explained that under the shared loss arrangement, OneWest could resell the home, collect an FDIC reimbursement, and actually end up with more money than it paid for the original IndyMac loan.(1)

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• The Cravalhos are suing OneWest Bank in Sacramento County Superior Court claiming the bank violated state law by not taking adequate steps to help them avoid foreclosure. They have also filed for personal bankruptcy, which stalled a courthouse auction originally scheduled last fall.

For the story, see Homeowners claim bank prefers FDIC bailout over house payments.

(1) Go here for a video presentation on an explanation of the sweetheart deal that the Indymac/One West boys were given by the FDIC.