Genet’s Home

The following is a letter to Ocwen Loan Servicing from Genet and her family, who are facing eviction from her home and her community. She is refusing to leave and her community is standing up with her in an incredible show of support. Whose house? Genet’s house!

 

Dear Ocwen Loan Servicing,

   My name is Genet Beyene and when I first moved to South Minneapolis in 1997 as a single mother with my son, I was afraid.  But over the years, I saw how people in South care about the quality of their neighborhood and support one another.  I grew to love this area, and in 2000, I put a downpayment on the perfect home where I could raise my son.  He was 4 years old when I bought this house.  We laugh about how he used to scare me when he climbed high into the tree in the front yard; he loves it here, this house holds all of his memories.  
   When my mother became ill, I transferred from working as a nurses aid for Hennepin County Medical Center to care for her full-time as a PCA.  Now, she also calls my house home.  Our neighbors know us well.  But last May, Ocwen Loan Servicing claimed I sent incorrect paperwork regarding my mortgage.  Although I have never missed a payment, I now fight for my right to stay in my home.  I will not leave.
   As so many others have experienced, I have seen my mortgage pass through many hands, from Fairmont Mortgage to Litton Mortgage to Ocwen Loan Servicing.  My payments have gone from $835 a month, to over $1850!  Despite all the confusion, all the paperwork, all the promises to reduce payments, I have always paid on time.  Even while working 16 hour days at the Medical Center, to then have my hours cut in 2008.  Even through 2009 when my mother suffered a stroke and my son was hit by a car.
   I was so thankful when Litton reduced my monthly payment during this year of hardship.  The full-time pay I receive as a Personal Care Assistant for my mother covers my payments, although my dedication to her health doesn’t allow for a second job, so there’s very little extra.  Because I care for her as family, the job never really ends.  So when Litton didn’t accept my payment in March 2012 and claimed a forbearance penalty saying I hadn’t sent in the proper paperwork, you can imagine my heartbreak.  They foreclosed only 2 months later, on May 27th, 2012 and sold my mortgage to Ocwen Loan Servicing in July.  
   In total, I have already paid $188,444 since I bought this home in 1997.  Now Ocwen Loan Servicing is demanding I pay them $270,000 just to stay in my home.  That’s not fair.  In the realty world it’s called “predatory lending”, but I call it robbery.  I have worked all my life.  I deserve to stay in my home.
   Ocwen Loan Servicing needs to give me a fair re-negotiation of my mortgage at my home’s current market value.  I want Ocwen Loan Servicing to re-write my mortgage to reflect the current market value of my home, to eliminate the penalties they’ve tacked on to profit off my home, and I refuse to leave until I receive this good faith negotiation.  
   I ask my neighbors for their support, to keep this community strong.  I will not leave, my mother and my son will not leave, and I will stay in my home as the same member of this community that I have been for the past 12 years.  Housing is a human right and I am reaching out to others in a similar situation in the Central Community.  Stand with me. 

 

Sign Genet’s petition at:

http://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/ocwen-loan-servicing-negotiate-with-genet-beyene

 

Thank you for your support!

 

 

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