Bank of America Mortgages

Days later we were contacted by an assistant to Ms. ** saying she needed a letter to verify how we were going to commute to work from the new home. We again explained that it was going to be a retirement home in the future. We were then led through an infuriating, frustrating, and utterly ridiculous runaround claiming that we should have applied for a second home mortgage which we were not told at the time of application. This anxiety provoking process ended in a denial of our mortgage due to their inability to include my husband's income because we disclosed that this was going to be a retirement home. My husband has not applied for retirement and no date has been set for retirement.

We disclosed that we were going to be using the home for retirement when we first contacted Ms. **. She claimed to have 30 years in the business and yet was not able to tell us that this may be an issue when we applied??? She gladly took our money for which we are still attempting to have returned. We visited our local bank the very next day in complete stress. We were told our mortgage is a slam dunk and we are model customers for a mortgage. We will be closing ALL accounts with Bank of America as soon as possible!!!

Apart from that their processing team in Tampa Fl goofed up my entire case and delayed it so much that I may not have the closing tomorrow. I may suffer mentally and physically as my pressure is shooting up and will hold BOFA responsible for the same. GUYS TRUST ME>>>THIS IS THE WORST EVER BANK TO DEAL WITH<, I WOULD RATHER PAY HIGHER INTEREST RATE AND GO WITH ANOTHER BANK THAN BOFA. All the underwriters and the processors should lose jobs. I want to give it a ZERO stars.

ML has a program called Parent Power which allows parents to pledge collateral so that their children can obtain a 100% mortgage. We have taken advantage of this program for three of our five children. Our oldest child obtained a mortgage of approximately $285000 about 8 years ago. We pledged approximately $100,000 of our assets so that our son could get a 100% mortgage and not have to pay P.M.I. Our son has aggressively paid down the principal on the mortgage, paying an extra $1000 per month for the last several years. His principal balance is now $200,000. House sales in our son's neighborhood have appreciated rapidly, and a conservative estimate places the value of his home at $340000.

We have asked BofA to release the hold on our pledged assets. Originally, they refused, claiming that the loan had to be paid down to $178000, because they assume there’s been no appreciation in value. Now they have said that if we pay $485 for an appraisal, and the appraisal comes back at $287009 or higher they will release the hold on our pledged assets.

The bottom line on all of this is clear... BofA doesn’t care that we have a substantial relationship with ML. They don’t care that we have convinced two of our adult children to move hundreds of thousands of dollars of assets to ML. They don’t care that our son has never missed a mortgage payment in eight years, or that his credit score exceeds 800. In essence, BofA is requiring that our son proves that he has at least a 30% equity position in his home, when they are making mortgage loans with 20% down payments every day to complete strangers. It makes no sense.

Now I had to be out of $787 in closing costs instead of $233 as the loan officer informed me. Wow! Definitely a big jump. No matter how I reasoned with them that I should not be penalized in paying interest for May, they would not reason or compromise. Now it made perfect sense why they kept asking for seemingly minor statements over and over and why they chose not to respond to the title company in a reasonable; all for the deliberate purpose of getting an extra $533 out of me in interest.

I don't see no difference in a someone coming behind me to rob me of my purse with $533; only difference is Bank of America can legally get away with it. In essence, I was robbed. After I made it clear that I was happy about it, the loan officer kept trying to pacify me by telling me I would get an interest credit. After drilling him on it, I realized he was just making up a false story. There was no such thing as interest credit, not in my case. Then he wanted to reassure me I was getting back $451 out of my escrow. I reminded him that I was going to get that back whether I brought $1 into closing or $1000. What difference did that make and how was I supposed to feel better? Lastly, I was told there are no guarantees. Uh duh, nothing in life is guaranteed, yet, the obvious timing of when B of A finally got their act together for me to proceed to closing was more than obvious of what they intended to do all along.

I really thought about changing to another lender at the last min; only reason why I didn't because interest rates went up since and I would have to pay for another appraisal. I had to accept the lesser of the evils. Given another chance to refinance, I will never go through Bank of America even if another lender is not the model lender. Never again!

Due to some serious health issues (cancer), the recent sudden death of my husband, and a very uncertain future, I did not pay it at that time. It just wasn't a priority. Flash forward two years. The property is now my permanent home. I reviewed my finances and noted that I was only $159 from being at BOA's "required" 70/30 ratio! Woo! Hoo! So I again reached out to BOA to have the PMI dropped, thinking that I could just pay an additional couple of hundred dollars to satisfy the requirement that my remaining mortgage fall below their $88,200 threshold. I figured it was a no-brainer, as I have been a customer for many years and have NEVER BEEN LATE ON A SINGLE PAYMENT for any of my accounts. Boy, was I ever wrong! BOA came back with a response telling me that I must get a NEW appraisal that shows that the home meets the 70/30 ratio.

I called the PMI department at 1-800-669-9092 and challenged the response, indicating that I should not have to pay $500+ for a new appraisal since home values have increased so much. I also pointed out that I have never been late on a payment. I offered to send pics of the home, which has been repaired and has been refurbished with many new upgrades since the prior appraisal so that they could compare the pics to the prior appraisal. I asked that they look at me a HUMAN, A GOOD, LONG-TERM, FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE person, and not as a "ratio." (Unfortunately, the representative had a Hispanic accent so thick that I could barely understand them. Their understanding of me appeared even less adequate, but I thought that I finally managed to get my points across to them.) I called back three business days later (as instructed) for the new decision.

After going through a lengthy hold-time, I finally spoke to a different representative. This time I was told that since the property was an investment, my LTV needed to be at 50/50!!! I nearly had a stroke! I explained that the home is my permanent residence, and has been since July 2017. I referenced the 2016 letter, and the 30/70 ratio I was quoted that the time, even though it was "investment property" then! I offered to send insurance records to prove my residency... records that show that the insured value on the home is $160,000, which was based on a visual inspection and market comparison done by my hometown insurer in 2017... an insurer who knows this town and its exponential growth well. I was told to call back in five business days for a new decision. Today, I called back. The NEW decision is that I must meet the 70/30 ratio OF THE ORIGINAL LOAN AMOUNT!!! WHAT???

Not the 2016 appraised amount, but ORIGINAL 2014 mortgage amount??? I asked to speak to someone a little further up the food chain, and was told that I would only get the same response as they were all powerless to make actual decisions. (That wasn't comforting, to say the least!) It was indicated to me that the representatives could only read the decisions handed down to them from the Gods above. I am LIVID. Recently, as this situation has progressed (or regressed, depending on how you look at it), I have read several accounts of mortgage lenders being sued in class-actions over this very matter. I have also found several credible articles (I was a legal professional prior to my disability, and have access to legal databases) that indicate that BOA and other lenders use smoke and mirrors to skirt the law and keep PMI in place as long as possible in order to maximize profits for its investors.

One such article by an alleged former BOA employee indicated that he was instructed in the tactics of PMI removal denial, with his yearly bonuses calculated according to the amount of additional PMI he was responsible for retaining! I intend to pursue this matter on a legal level (It is a matter of principle to me now.) I certainly won't have any problems finding an attorney who will be willing to back a class-action suit once they see the dollar signs. (Unfortunately, the only way to win against greed and corruption is to find an equally greedy attorney. Thank God I know a few of those personally from my professional days!) Meanwhile, I am simply refinancing my loan through a reputable lender who sees me as a PERSON, and not as a consumer that they can victimize and exploit. I am DONE with BOA forever, and will tell my story to everyone I can! No one should ever be treated like I have.

Perhaps I was foolish to expect to still be able to log in after the account was closed but all other financial institutions I have dealt with before have allowed me to access the account and see a zero account balance (at least for a period of time) after accounts have been closed. Generally, I had a reasonable experience with the mortgage but this final dealing soured the final experience.

We were shock how those people are mishandling the mortgage loan, DO THEY THINK CUSTOMERS ARE FOOLS? DON’T KNOW HOW TO READ? They were pushing me to sign & send the documents same day. But when I try to question them, they did not answer the phone. I left the message & my call was return by a different loan officer handling my file. They reduced my loan amount for $165.000 with different figures & the calculations were wrong & send me the documents to sign but I did not sign again.

When I called them again, they did not answer & I left the message. Then they called me by the 3rd loan officer name??? Appeared to handle my files & wants to reduce the loan amount to $150.000 by holding my property, which is appraised value of $390.000. I realized that this a “Scam” is going on after charging me $517.60 for loan processing fee to send the appraisal. Then reducing the loan amount to $150.000 & holding my property!!! Now the processing fee they change the figure to $ 640.00. I immediately called the credit card co & request to “stop payment” of $517.60 issued by the “City Bank”. And called back Bank of America & spoke to Mr. John ** who is the supervisor of the this 3 ladies who handled my loan & reported that I will report to Dept. of Consumer Affairs this matter. He sounds more respective & calm gentlemen to understand my matter & agree to help me again.

Few days later he called me back with different figures wants to offer the loan again & he wants me to pay back the “Appraisal Fee” to Bank of America. I wasn’t too sure to do it after I read the consumer reports against BANK OF AMERICA MTG: LOANS. After I read www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/ba.htm I was shock to realize that this Bank is corrupted. There are so many customer complaints written against Bank of America has “No Name”. 1,071,314 reviews on Consumer Affairs are verified.

I have paid in full The City Bank credit card & closed their account & this is none of their business to involve with me. There is nothing I owe to them. (City Bank) Yesterday, I got a call from a “law firm” filing a class action lawsuit against Bank of America who wants me to submit my complaint to join them. If you have any complaint please write me at my email to **. This will stop the crookedness of “Bank of America’s” Mortgage Department. BE AWARE BEFORE YOU STEP IN. THEY ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO RIP OFF THE CUSTOMERS. NEVER RECOMMEND TO ANYBODY.

The salesperson and the mortgage "specialist" (in quotes because if that is the person's specialty - please get a new job) were never on the same page. I was told that my rate would not change if I chose to pay my real estate taxes on March 23 and March 29, I received an email that if property taxes were not escrowed, my rate would change. I sent a copy of the email to the mortgage rep who replied that her boss allowed a pricing error and we ate the fee!!! Seriously, what else would you do when you clearly misspoke... so that was a favor? My credit rating is above average but they did not negotiate the Lender Origination Fee. I have been waiting for an approval of POA for over 10 days. I escalated to the mortgage specialist's supervisor who must have done something because my POA is in the process of final approval BUT the supervisor told me she would call me and I never heard anything.

I now received a request for adding a clause to the POA and told it would take an additional 48-72 hours for the final review. My closing is scheduled for April 9. In February, I was approved for a different purchase pretty quickly but the deal fell through. Considering the work that was done for the first approval (purchase price between the two properties within $10k), this should have been easier and quicker. The process began on March 5. Bank of America should be ashamed of employing such incompetent and lazy individuals. I read reviews on the branch that my mortgage contact resides and they were awful. If you have a choice, DO NOT USE BANK OF AMERICA FOR MORTGAGES... high fees, low customer service, inaccurate information, slow to unresponsive and lacking in professionalism.

On March 12, bozo #4 was overnighting documents for us to sign. Nothing. And I’m fairly certain that “overnight” with FedEx doesn’t mean 12 days later. If I could have given negative stars here, I would have. I’m not sure how all this will pan out. I DO know that this is the very last time BOA will receive any of my business, money, or recommendations.

I sent the amount they wanted to stop the bogus foreclosure while I argued - but they didn't cash the first check sent immediately Aug. 1- so I sent another check for $25 more because I forgot the exact amount they asked for - they put that money in another person's account named Robert something living in Armaro, TX -and didn't apply it to my account! Then finally on August 18 - they cashed BOTH my checks (only one was suppose to be cashed!) and stopped the bogus foreclosure yet transferred my loan to Seterus and RUINED MY CREDIT - so now the remaining house I have with them had my insurance INCREASED because of the bogus adverse credit BOA applied making my mortgage payments increase by $100 a month. I have filed complaints with the CFCF OCC - but they don't do anything - and the OCC doesn't do anything either. They are all government scams that appear FOR THE PEOPLE- but they AREN'T!

I also filed a complaint to Ron Johnson's Senate office E-Mail: **... But guess what? That was in February 1, 2018 and as of Feb 28th BOA is now attempting to foreclosure on my remaining house again putting my MORTGAGE payments in PRINCIPAL instead of mortgage payments in advance and doing a bogus foreclosure all over again. I attempt to CALL -BOA as I did yesterday. But wait time is always 30 to 2 hour wait time. I called yesterday and got a supervisor I asked for after an hour. I told him my issues and Randy ** of North Carolina first words after waiting all that time... And blowing a gasket having to complain about the company EVERY SINGLE MONTH... FIRST WORDS OUT OF HIS MOUTH WERE... "I can't". I didn't even wait any longer for the rest!

This is outrageous that there is NO GOVERNMENT AGENCY made to help citizens actually HELP CITIZENS and only are for big business. I contacted the OCC, Help with my bank, Justice Dept, Senator office E-Mail: **. Scott Walker doesn't even respond to emails sent way in Dec. (12/28 and again 02/14/2018). NOT A WORD - no help at all. I'll be having illegal foreclosures letters sent soon I'm sure (since I'm paid up a month in advance). My insurance goes up - my payments go up because of adverse bogus foreclosures - they already took one house from me. Chase was ordered to reverse my foreclosure and found guilty of illegally taking my house by false documents and adding on their own insurance for $2200 which they billed twice in one months so I'd lose my house. Guess what - for my $165,000 I had listed with Multi listing during the foreclosure - I was sent a check for $8.95! NO JUSTICE!

Next, If I ever hear a recording stating that says "my call is important to us," I will go crazy. It took me all this time (mostly on hold) to get what I needed to move the closing statement forward two days! That cost me dearly in terms of performing my "paying job." If a bank sells our mortgage loan to BOA in the future, I will figure out how to refinance it with another, smaller bank. I have wasted another few minutes with this review, but it was well worth it.

What a joke. If we had $150,000 in cash we wouldn't ask for help. We will close our personal and business checking accounts after 12 years, they basically told us we don't care about you. He gave a word if we paid our car loans he will approve the mortgage. We spent almost 20,000 in cash paying off the cars, we lost three months in hopes we will get this loan, lost the house, lost the money that I could have used elsewhere instead of paying off cars. Keep in mind we make 200,000 gross income, and we were willing to pay 70,000 as down payment with a 760 credit score and they basically said they can't trust us. Well screw you Bank of America, because another bank not only pre-approved everything but already did all the paperwork in one day for another house. DO NOT waste your time with this bank. Go elsewhere please, stay away from this bank.

After repeatedly contacting Bank of America on the following Monday and Tuesday with ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE FROM BANK OF AMERICA, we were contacted on Wednesday (48 hours before settlement) saying that Bank of America does not offer loans for waterfront property!!! We have lost almost $50,000.00 in penalties for removing monies from our 401K, expenses for the loan documents, appraisals, etc. During this process, all online updates took quite a while to make by the bank and I was reassured that everything was okay and that online updates just took a little longer. It has been a few hours since the phone call this morning and already, my online account has been wiped clean of the loan account information!!!

A day after I signed all my disclosures, Chad **... My loan department guy calls me and says: "Sorry you can't touch the 20% down payment you just put in your business savings account because there's a law we didn't know about." Yet I opened my business account based on lies saying I could safely use that account for a mortgage. Better yet they tell me that money is now frozen and I could only use 3% of it for my mortgage... Yet my condo offer was based on a conventional loan which I was well prepared to pay my 20% on... But they blocked me and lied to me. And it ruined my first home buying experience/attempt. I will soon be leaving Bank of America because of Chad ** and the loan dep. They are one of the worst and most crooked banks out there and they lied to me, face to face and in writing.

Also fun fact my realtor couldn't believe they also asked for my 2017 taxes by 2 days after I signed disclosures. (Realtor explained most banks would give you longer or not need more than the 2 years they already had from me!) In closing all I can say is stay away from Bank of America especially in regards to loans. I will be buying a house in full instead this year thanks to Chad ** and Bank of America bittering my experience as a first time home buyer and being lied to and screwed over and losing a condo I did want.

Also in my denial letter they actually had the nerve to put... Lack of funds as a reason for denial. They literally have my 20%+ amount for down payment right there but blocked me and didn't let me touch that money. Do yourself a favor and stay away and make sure to especially avoid Chad ** of BOA North Beverly MA. or any of the Mass branches!! Bottom line... A bank who lies while staring at your down payment in the face... Should be avoided!!

They also said that my LTV had to be 75% which contradicts the information sent out by them in the flyer. I asked if I could qualify by just paying down the loan to get it under the LTV requirement and they said (no) that I would still have to pay for an appraisal. They will milk you for every dime they can get. They are hoping that I will not pay for the appraisal and drop my request so they can continue with the PMI. Don't ever use BOA for your mortgage. Loan Depot, Quicken Loans, Rocket Mortgage, and etc. would be better. They want and would appreciate your business.