Two acres of overgrowth are all that remain of the Genberg's family home. Last August the family barely made it out alive when an electrical fire consumed their house in the middle of the night.
The family says insurance money covered the payoff of the mortgage, money they sent to Ditech.
Still the bank sent them a bill every month for home owner’s insurance for a house that no longer existed.
By the time the Genbergs contacted us they had been fighting with the bank for a year and were in danger of losing the one thing the fire did not destroy: their two acre lot.
After hearing their story we connected the couple to the Housing and Education Alliance, a non-profit that helps troubled homeowners. Director Sylvia Alvarez reported Ditech’s to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Last month Wendy thanked the agency in person after Ditech offered to close their account at zero balance and send couple a deed to their land.
Now the family hopes to move forward and rebuild on their lot.
A spokesperson for Ditech responded to our requests for a comment with this statement:
“Ditech takes such matters raised by its customers very seriously and we have processes in place to handle these situations.
When insurance proceeds are sufficient to pay off a mortgage account, the funds are applied and all subsequent assessments cease. In situations where the insurance proceeds are insufficient to pay off the mortgage, customers are notified and the mortgage is paid off when the remaining funds are received. With respect to this account, the funds were insufficient to pay off the loan. Nevertheless, Ditech applied the insurance proceeds to the account, waived the remaining balance on the loan, and closed the account.”
