Bank of America Mortgage Loan Modification – Success or Failure?
Posted on | November 19, 2009 | 24 Comments
The Bank of America mortgage loan modification program definitely got off to a slow start. Many home owners and analysts were convinced that the Making Home Affordable program was going to be a failure. Over the last few months many mortgage lenders have started to get loans into “trail periods” but this does not mean that these mortgages have been modified. Once the “trial period” ends who really knows what is going to happen.
With this being the case so far we would like to know what your experience has been. Many readers and contributors to Subprime Blogger have found many problems with the Bank of America mortgage loan modification program. Recently we found out that only 14% of mortgage loans that qualify have actually been put into the “trial period” by Bank of America; this compares with 40% that CitiMortgage have gotten into the “trial period.”
After purchasing Countrywide, Bank of America has the most mortgages on their books. With this being the case many home owners are hoping that they do what it takes to make the Making Home Affordable program work for all home owners who qualify. The plan was created to help home owners modify their mortgage and avoid foreclosure; hopefully Bank of America can make this happen sooner rather than later!
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Author: Mike Garner
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24 Responses to “Bank of America Mortgage Loan Modification – Success or Failure?”
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November 19th, 2009 @ 10:40 am
Bank of America has definitely failed with me. After dragging their feet for nearly 6 mos. with my “Making Home Affordable” plan, after submitting the paperwork twice (first time they lost it), after hearing a different scenario each time I contacted them, and finally after total frustration to get them to provide a loan modification trial period, I was denied because after all that time wasted, I was then considered behind on my mortgage payments. I think they are total con artists and have no interest in helping Americans today who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. My reason for falling behind was a) reduction in yearly income ($30K) and b) massive increase in property taxes. Now they are treating me like a financial delinquent. To hell with them and this country.
November 19th, 2009 @ 11:35 am
After my husband, who works in construction in Las Vegas, was laid off I tried to get the loan modification. They lost my first financial information and my phone records,so we started again. They kept saying I didn’t qualify, but call back next month. I asked them to review my paperwork and tell me why I didn’t qualify, but they couln’t. i finally got tired of calling and getting the same answer…..you dont qualify
November 19th, 2009 @ 11:39 am
It seems the scenario here with Mary is very perplexing. These big Banks even can not come up to their consumer expectations. Are they so FAT?
November 19th, 2009 @ 12:18 pm
I was with Country Wide, applied for refi May 15 2009. They still have not approved or denied. Today the lender called and said they are going to cancel loans they can’t close. I need a new appraisal, and basically everything I provided them in May they need again. I’m not behind, have a job, no reason why they couldn’t approve a refi quickly. What is Bank of America up to? Just google and see how many people are having problems with them.
November 19th, 2009 @ 1:46 pm
Bank of America should change their name to Bank of Un-America because of the way they treat their customer during hard times. As a procedure to keep people away from modifying their loan, they lost all our record and paper work the first time after being waiting for a few months. Reapply a second time and was informed that we were not qualified. Government should take over this crook band from those blood suckers!!!
November 19th, 2009 @ 2:44 pm
Bank of America’s loan modification program is a complete farce, this after they received some $145 Billion in tarp and other funds from the gov’t taxpayer money). First applied with them in March. Now, over a dozen phone calls later, and sending in my financial info three times (they keep saying they lost it), and after being told three different times I qualify for modification, I’m now being told – for the umpteenth time, it will be another three months before they get to my file – that makes it over 10 months since I first applied. Obviously, they are stalling. I’ve written my two senators, Baucus and Testor, with of course no help there either. B of A NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED on this matter. The modification program is a gov’t program right? Guess that explains a lot.
November 19th, 2009 @ 9:12 pm
[...] Bank of America mortgage loan modification program definitely got off to a slow [...]
November 20th, 2009 @ 6:44 am
We received loan modification papers from Countrywide last December 28, which we signed (notarized) and returned the first business day in January. According to the loan modification terms, we would begin making the new payment March 1, which we did, and have done since. BofA took over Countrywide in April. Today (almost a year later) I was told by BofA that the modification was rejected by the “investor” and asked me to try again. (The investor? Who? The taxpayers of the USA???) I told her no, I would not try again, but I would be calling the attorney general instead. I intend to contact not only our state atty general, but also the state Dept of Finance, Better Business Bureau, and any other consumer protection agency that might help. We’ll see what happens.
November 20th, 2009 @ 12:43 pm
Count me in the Bank of Nightmares. I was APPROVED for a loan modification in March and was told it would take 60-90 days to update in the system. Months of calls, heartache and stress later, they put a sell date for foreclosure on my home even though I did exactly what tehy told me. Never missed a modified payment for 7 months. I also got the message that the “invesor cancelled” the modification. I have an executed contract with them that they are not honoring. The State Attorney General connot help you since they are a national bank. You must file a complaint with the Comptroller of the Currency which is part of the Department of the Treasury. I filed 30 days ago and have not heard back. They have a 60 day turnaround (supposedly). Go to http://www.helpwithmybank.gov. There is NO doubt that this Bank is filled with corruption and is covering up something really big. I have never seen anything like what I have experienced the past 7 months. I call 1-3 times per week, talked to dozens and dozens of people and received that many stories. Been lied to, put off, hung up on and treated like a piece of dung. Just a warning to any American out there….there is NOTHING American about this bank.
November 20th, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
Is it supposed to cost $1600 up front to even try to qualify? My mortgage is with BofA, and we fell behind due to job loss for me and cut hours for my husband. They want us to pay $1600 up front, with still no guarantee that they will modify or reduce or payment. If they do, then we have to pay another $1200 in closing costs. If I had that kind of money, I wouldn’t be behind! They got all this money from the government and then want to charge us out the ass to “see if they can help”. Doesn’t seem right to me.
November 21st, 2009 @ 8:21 pm
Although I am sad to hear these stories of others frustrations with B of A, I am glad I am not crazy because these stories are so close to my own. I was with countrywide and after two years of trying to get them to modify my loan, run around, loss of records, rejections, I knew this was a scam. I was so happy when B of A took over. I thought maybe I could get a real bank to do the right thing and modify my loan with one of those great plans the new president promised would help the hardworking taxpayers of America. But to my disappointment, I found that B of A was using the same lines as Countrywide. Rejecting me for every gov. plan under the sun, and asked me to submit my financials all over again for the umteenth time. It really is upsetting since we, the taxpayers saved the B of A, and we cannot even benefit from it.
November 24th, 2009 @ 9:00 am
I just posted this on BoASux.
March 2009 -BoA said that they have the documents and we qualify for loan mod. By this time we had sent the documents 10 times. (btw my mom was getting very ill at this point and bed bound)
April 2009 – Called to follow up on the loan mod. BoA said they did not have the documents
April-May Resent documents 2 times, BoA said we should hear back in 5-10 days
May 2009 -BoA said they were finalizing the package and it would be 10 days. It would be no later then the end of the month.
June 2009 BoA said the loan was still in the work out process.
July 2009 BoA said that there was a new work out department (Home Retention Division) and that it would be 4 more weeks b4 we would hear something
Aug 2009 BoA said we were not eligible for loan work out. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown at this point. Esp with my mom so sick. The Housing Association said we needed to resend all documents
Sep 2009 The Housing Authority was working directly with the BoA team to finalize the package at this point. By the end of Sept we were told that they were finalizing the package….and they we would have a work out soon.
Oct 2009 I was told that there was a delay in finalizing the package because they are waiting for an appraisel on the home. (Btw our home is worth less, much less then what we owe. For example a home in our community originally sold for 350,000 and is now up for ‘short’ sale for 250,000)
Nov 2009 At the beginning of the Nov we were told that there has been a delay and the workout will be finalized. They are just a few steps left “Internal processes” “Please allow an additional 10 days”.
Present –We Rec’d a denial letter from BoA. They said that we need to send updated financials. Based on a calculaiton done on 11/17 we do not qualify. I’ve been sobbing all night (not just this but everything. My dear friend is fighting for her life (lung cancer) my mom is in the last months of her life and my husband can’t find full time work. I’m holding on by a thread emotionally.
November 24th, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
Me again. These stories are all the same, mine included. I know this sounds crazy, but there is something very evil going on here. There is no reason not to work with all of us very willing Americans. We are willing to pay our bills and do the right thing. I say we all stand strong and continue to fight this corrupt bank. File a complaint with the Dept of Treasury like I mention in #9 above. Keep fighting them. If there is an attorney out there that would want to take BofA on as a class action suit, please post your information so we can all get in touch with you. Let’s determine not to let these guys win. I will never trust another bank or company again.
November 25th, 2009 @ 2:29 am
I had an injury and sickness (a bad case of swine flu) this last summer, plus I was unable to find work at the height of crash paranoia with Bear Sterns. Bank of America DID NOTHING to help me. The refused to return calls, send paperwork, let me know what programs were available. Honestly, they WANTED to foreclose on me, as I am actually somebody who had equity in their home.
Why is everybody else able to get modifications, but not BoA customers? Isn’t anybody noticing this? Does the Obama administration even care? Why isn’t there legal action taken against this foul institution?
November 29th, 2009 @ 9:43 pm
Bank of America stated that I qualify for a program that require me to make 3 on time monthly payments while they consider the mortgage modification. I lost a job then found another making $500 less a month, but they want me to make the same $1400 payment for the 3 months.
The odds of getting this modification does not look good based on these comments.
November 30th, 2009 @ 3:32 pm
Is there really help out there for us responsible homeowners that need to get our loan modified? I requested a loan modification over two months ago and still have not received anything from the bank. Not even a letter or phone call like they promised. I have never been late on my house payment and I want to keep my house. However, I was laid off last January and used up all my 401k, Severance and any savings I had in my bank. I am struggling to pay my house payment with my unemployment. My husbands income will be cut in half in a few weeks when he gets his sugary.We are barely making it know. I don’t know what to do. I call BAC and I am put on hold for hours and when someone gets on to talk to me they pretend to transfer me to the right department but it always hangs up on me. Obama if you are going to offer this program please inform Bank of America what the deal is because they don’t seem to have a clue.
Someone please help,
December 3rd, 2009 @ 7:59 am
I applied for a loan mod in March. I was told I was an excellent candidate and totally qualified. I was approved for a 3 month trial period and was old the terms of my new modification. Made all the payments on time. After the 3 months were over, nothing. I never had a late payment. Now I have to late payments because they said I owed all the money I saved during the trial period and I owed my full payments. I was told that I could wait until the last day in Oct. to make a payment, but to call first a my loan mod should be done by then. No correspondence, no instruction just another late payment. I was instructed to be 60 days behind, all I received was a default notice. I was told it should be done beginning of December, but now they way the system conversion is holding it up. Bull, all BofA has done is made money off me and the government. As I see it they got$1000 for my trial and now two late payments. What did I get for it just a run around. Now mind you they have yet to ask me for all those complicated forms they are speaking about. I asked should I send it those documents, they say no they have all they need. It is a totally shell game. BofA has eventually lost customers for life. I am not sure they care, but one day this con game will bite them. Last time I called them I cried, I said just tell me if you are not going to doing anything, then I will stop calling. “No you are ready to go” Ha. Now that they are paying all the tarp money back there will be no incentive. They think now they will have good news to overshadow their lack of honesty.
December 3rd, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
I just heard today my Negotiator Monica Thompson gave herself until May 2010 to finish my loan mod. I was given a BAC 3 month trial, not a MHA. Then they wanted all the money back I saved, then they said they would not report to credit bureau until Dec 31 but they did. May 2010, that is plenty of time to accumulate a lot of late payments and penalties. I was told today, just keep paying the modified amount, until we work something out. Oh yea, but nothing is guaranteed. What is going On???
December 18th, 2009 @ 8:53 pm
my name is Robert Langley,are you facing problems paying up numerous debts? Or worse, are you past due on many of them? Perhaps debt consolidation is the answer to your problems. There are many lenders who will allow you to consolidate your debts. When you do, paying up will be easier for you and hopefully you will be able to pay off your debts in due time. contact this email address for your loan:loan_agency009@live.com
February 2nd, 2010 @ 8:34 pm
The same thing happen to me. I applied for a loan modification, after 3 months the only thing I got was several late payment in my credit report. I am very disapoint because it is all a scam. I pretend similar to others fill a complaint with the general atorney, and try to get a lawyer who can help with this matter.
February 3rd, 2010 @ 9:54 am
My husband and I have much the same story as all above. The only difference is, we hired an attorney to represent us. We purchased our home in April 2007. Our mortgage was originally with a small mid-western bank who was bought by Countrywide only one month after our settlement. We were never informed about the sale of our mortgage until after it happened. So we did not have an opportunity to shop around for another “real” bank. Countrywide told us that we needed to have a new appraisal done on our home, at our expense. We complied. The new appraisal was sent to Countrywide in August 2007 – one week before the housing bubble burst. The appraisal was for $30,000 more than what we had paid for the house earlier that year. Then, Countrywide sent us new mortgage papers to sign that stated our house was worth $30,000 more than what we paid for it. We were still in negotiations with Countrywide because of their error when they were bought by BofA. Now, BofA does not have any papers with our signature. They only have record that we owed Countrywide an amount that is $30,000 more than what our home is actually worth today. We have all the same horror stories of no one to talk to, having the phone hung up on us, people in cubicles asking again and again for our personal information. By the way, I a few months ago, my identity was stolen and someone hacked into my checking account. Now, I refuse to give my personal information to BofA again. Back to the horror story – We were told by BofA that we qualified for a mortgage modification. Well, we do not need a modification – we only need to have the original mortgage that we signed papers for. But, we sent them a check to begin the process of a 3 month trial. We sent the check with a return receipt and it is lucky that we did because BofA wrote to us that they did not receive the check in time and that we were facing foreclosure. That is when we decided to hire an attorney. Because we had proof that BofA did receive the check in time! This is a SCAM. They stole our money! They even admit that they cashed the check anyway and now they are telling us that they are keeping the money to put toward our back payments. Oh, by the way, we stopped paying pou mortgage to the bank but keep our monthly payments in a savings account. So we actually could afford to pay all back payments, etc. However, we refuse to make any payments to any bank for an amount that we NEVER agreed to! This is an amazing scam. BofA is making huge profits on this so-called trial period payment schedule. But they have no intention of ever agreeing to a mortgage. Well, we do not want a ‘trial period’. We are ready to sign papers for a real mortgage with a real bank. Another issue is that our credit scores have dropped because BofA has reported us to the credit agencies as not paying. So even if we have the money for a mortgage somewhere else, our credit is ruined and even the local bank who we have dealt wirh for almost 20 years will not give us a mortgage because of our credit score. It is a nightmare, to say the least. Our attorney is very hopeful of getting us a hearing and having BofA’s attorneys present to answer for their CRIMES. Good luck to anyone out there who is in this boat with us!
February 17th, 2010 @ 11:45 pm
Stop wasting your time people. I wasted 6 months 3 of those being a trial period. I finally got fed up w/waiting and have put my house up on the market. There is a definite incentive to short sale vs modifying you. Let go of the shame and guilt of saying you had to short sale and just do it. If we all agree to short sale we will be able to purchase a better house for cheaper. People are complaining about too much government and here we have the opportunity to dictate the price of homes and people are scared to stop paying. Just grab you know what and stop paying and immediately put your house up for short sale.
March 4th, 2010 @ 5:10 pm
I was shocked, and relieved to have come across this site, because these events are happening to me! A modification approved by Countrywide during the merger to BofA- we had the papers notarized and mailed- after 8 months of trying to see why BofA is still reporting us as late on our mortgage, they magically claim 1)don’t know what is going on, then 2)”you have been paying on escrow but not mortgage for the last 8 months, and 3) this happened to a lot of mortgages during the merger and it was denied to now 4) we don’t show that we ever received signed papers so the mod was never enforced.
WHAT!? This bank has caused us to have a drop in credit score, among other heartaches, and I haven’t even told you all of the details- just the short story!
April 1st, 2010 @ 3:02 pm
We completed and were approved for a loan modification with Countrywide and have paperwork saying that effective May 1, 2009 we could begin making our new payment. Immediately after, B of A bought Countrywide. Ever since, we have been fighting with them. They told us 4-5 different things ranging from we just needed to wait but we were doing everything right to call us several times a week saying we are 2 months behind in our mortgage. Now we are about to have a baby any day, and they have told us that they are not Countrywide and do not have to honor the modification. We need to go through the whole process again and prove that we have a hardship. Is there anyone who knows of free legal advice to get on situations like this. We are having a baby and have a wonderful dog and home. We did everything by the book and now are at risk to lose our home, and they are completely unwilling to work with us. Well, if we have to walk away, they will be stuck with a house that is $100,000 less then the mortgage and is in a saturated market