I have been a loan client of Bank of America since 2008 after they absorbed my original loan company, Countrywide Mortgage that my mortgage was with since 2001. I have always had an impeccable payment record and never missed a payment. Since the housing market crisis last year, and as has been the case with many others caught in it, the mortgage on my home has surpassed its current market assessed value.
As a single income mother with 2 young daughters, and due to the loss of child support income, I proactively sought your assistance and applied for a loan modification with Bank of America at the beginning of this year. I had submitted my original application on January 27th but sent my February mortgage payment in full which was received on February 5th. It was not posted until February 19th, however, which apparently made me delinquent. The cancelled check does show it was received the first week of the month, but it was placed in a forbearance account and not entered into the record.
I was informed that I pre-qualified for a loan modification and was placed on a trial plan for a three month period. I went ahead and paid the modified trial payments of 1208.37 for the months of March and April. Not having heard anything about the status of the modification, I contacted your institution on April 15th to inquire. It was at this point I was informed that the application had been denied the previous day, April 14th stating I was not in imminent default. I never received a denial letter and I was advised that, despite all the money sent in during the trial period having been received, my account was now showing as severely delinquent.
I was then told that I would be referred to a different department of Bank of America who would see if I qualified for an alternative program. I was to receive an application packet within 2 weeks. Nothing was ever received. I recontacted Bank of America again and was told that I would receive something within 10 days that the bank was backlogged with applications and they would send it out.
Again, nothing was received.
When I called back, I was now informed that, due to the loss of child support not being considered a qualifying hardship, the timeframe to work out an alternative solution had expired and I was in arrears in the amount of $3800 which would be required immediately to bring the account current. Not to mention I was told to “try to make it a year in the house and I could apply for a mod again at that time”.
I explained that I could not afford this amount which was the reason I attempted to be proactive and contacted you at the beginning of the year in the first place.
Instead of working with my situation, I feel I was set up to fail just so your company could foreclose on my property despite all my attempts at wishing to work out an amicable solution. I now have to move my self and my kids all because I attempted to proactively save my house but you didn’t feel I was at risk of hardship nor did you feel my loan was worth modifying to keep my family in our home.
I don’t understand why the trial payments were good enough for the trial period which was put in place to see if I could make the payments, which I could in a timely manner yet I was still denied. Why set up the trial period payments with a borrower if you are just going to deny them at the end of the period. That’s what the program was intended for correct?
The making home affordable plan was designed to help homeowners keep their homes. I also understand that the government helps the mortgage companies who help their clients. I have been making this mortgage payment for over 10 years without 1 late payment ever and when I needed the help you were not there to assist me.
When you have a borrower able to make those trial payments and fulfill the loan obligations on the property it makes no sense that you would deny them and take on a foreclosure. When I entered into this I was not delinquent, my loan was paid on time every month. Once entered into the program I was then delinquent and denied. The modification states that once the trial payments are made that the loan would be modified and the payments would continue at the rate the trial payment was set at, not to mention if your mortgage was over 31 percent of your income you were eligible and my income is 52 percent of my income yet I was denied. I do not understand the practice here.
I will let people know of my experience with your bank not that it will make a difference to your institution but other people need to be aware that you do not help those that actually need it. We will be moving but I just wanted you to know this was one home you could’ve helped save from foreclosure.
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