Stop Foreclosure Answer

In a recent post I told you about the spin Bank of America is putting on their performance in the Making Home Affordable Modification Program.  If you have not read that, please go and read it now before you read this post.  You will see what I am talking about.

In the press release I mentioned in that post, Bank of America said that their employees were working hard to help as many people facing foreclosure as possible save their homes.

Oh Yeah? Is That What They Did With This Couple?

Michael and Tamara Florea own a home in southwestern Ohio.  Their mortgage was with Countrywide. 

The attorney general of Ohio filed suit against Countrywide alleging that Countrywide knowingly loaned money to people in Ohio under false pretenses.  On these mortgages Countrywide knew that the payments were unrealistically high and there was no way the people could make them.  In December of 2008 Countrywide settled the suit and agreed to modify the loans of each of these people.

The Floreas had one of these mortgages.  In January of 2009 Countrywide offered the Floreas a loan modification.  In this modification the payment was reduced from $924 to $584 a month.   Michael and Tamara signed the modification agreement on January 10, 2009 and sent it back to Countrywide via Federal Express.

Every month after that the Floreas paid the $584 as agreed to in the modification.

Later in January Bank of America finalized its takeover of Countrywide.  At that point it became legally obligated to honor the loan modifications agreed to by Countrywide.

The Shock in June

So in June they were floored when they got a letter from Bank of America indicating that their monthly payment was $924.  It also indicated that there was a past due balance of $11,083. 

Tamara called Bank of America several times to clarify what happened.  Each time she spoke with different representatives who told her that their loan modification was being processed.  In a phone conversation in late July Tamara was told that Bank of America would start foreclosure proceedings against them if they didn’t pay what they owed and resume making their monthly payments of $924.

On August 24 Tamara tried to make a payment by phone.  It was refused.  The Bank of America representative with whom she spoke informed her that she and her husband were delinquent in their payments and because of that a hold had been placed on their account.  Several others with whom she spoke told her that her loan modification had not been processed because the income information was inconsistent.

Here’s the Kicker

Afterwards the Floreas discovered that Bank of America had been reporting negative information about them to the credit bureaus since at least March.  That had lowered their credit scores.

The Law Suit Against Bank of America

The Floreas have filed a law suit against Bank of America.  They want the court to order Bank of America to honor the modification agreement they signed with Countrywide and to prohibit them from filing a foreclosure action.

On Tuesday, October 6, they had their first victory.  In a phone conference Bank of America agreed to a court order barring it from filing foreclosure while the case is pending.

I am sure you would agree that Bank of America has zapped the Floreas. 

• How could they renege on the loan modification Countrywide sent out that the Floreas signed off on?
• How could they say that the Floreas owed them $11,083?
• How could they file foreclosure against the Floreas?
• How could they zap the Floreas’ credit scores?

A company that truly wanted to help their customers facing foreclosure save their homes would never do this.  Bank of America should be penalized for their actions here.

If you are facing foreclosure, don’t believe that your mortgage company is going to help you save your home.  Don’t trust them until they prove to you that they are worthy of your trust.  If your mortgage company is Bank of America, get legal assistance immediately.  You can’t afford to have them do to you what they did to the Floreas.

If you want to find out more about the foreclosure process and steps you can take to save your home from foreclosure, you might want to get my EBook.  You can find out more about it by clicking Stop Foreclosure.

Much Success,

Mark Elkins