You will Have to get to the US based offices of Ocwen, not the overseas people you will initially be dealing with, and it may require some payment to them to make this happen...they are not legally bound to give you this release, regardless of how much you paid the owner, since they have a valid mtg.You May have to threaten/file an action against the seller to motivate them to cooperate, if they gave you a full Warranty Deed.If the mtg now with Ocwen was placed After you bought the property, and recorded the deed, it is Not valid. 

The crash happened and his tenants stopped paying rent after loosing jobs.

The following is my loose game plan for the next couple years.

My tenants feel somewhat 'bound' to me, as this is something no one has ever done for them previously.  

This is one level to achieving residual income without being bound to job.

Could I loose my personal home? 

That way you can outline that the terms are for tenancy and still not be bound to a long term lease.

If you don't have a tenant estoppel, then you are likely bound to the current renewed lease terms.

However, if the tenants hold a valid lease, you will be bound by the terms of that lease, UNLESS the seller can get the tenants to agree to a modified lease.

The cabinets won't fit your kitchen, but usually they're just sitting loose on the floor, so you can look at the details a little and see how a real official cabinetmaker or finish carpenter did it 40 years ago