Consumer complaint received 2018-03-14
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: RI
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
I am filing this complaint with regard to a foreclosure sale of my home scheduled for XX/XX/XXXX. The foreclosing bank is Bank of America. I am hopeful that due to the imminent sale date, this complaint can be escalated and the process to reach out to Bank of America and to have the foreclosure stopped, be expedited. 

Bank of America has scheduled a foreclosure sale due to a default on a HELOC loan, the second mortgage on the property, caused by the hardship posed by the death of my parents who were and are still the named mortgagers. Despite my best and dogged efforts to retain the property since my parents deaths, and to personally manage these debts, Bank of America has refused to consider me for a loan modification, debt settlement or other home retention options. If this foreclosure sale proceeds I will lose my home without ever having been evaluated for a home retention program. 

My mother and father passed away in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX respectively. Their house was under water and had two mortgages. After my fathers death it was on the market for over a year and did not sell. As there are no assets, I have personally made mortgage payments, paid property taxes and insurance premiums and related expenses. I am not only the successor in interest, but am also the sole Trustee for a Trust, in my fathers name, in which the propertyand no other assetsis held. Still, as indicated in the included notices from XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, Bank of America has denied my eligibility for any modification options based on the assertion that the borrower must be a living person. I have asked about assuming the loan such that I can be eligible for modification and have been told on multiple occasions that this is not an option. However, as successor in interest and Trustee, I should be afforded both rights. 

I was further denied by Bank of America the right afforded under Rhode Island state law to a foreclosure mediation conducted by a third party designated by the state. The law is intended to prevent foreclosures and insurmountable arrearages. Though the law states that, as heir of the mortgagor, I am legally entitled to this mediation, Bank of America denied me this opportunity since I am not the named borrower. Furthermore, I am currently unable to receive a statement on the account. I have been trying to obtain a figure showing what is due on the loan for the last three weeks, a process that I was told would take 48-72 hours, and despite multiple calls and hours on hold and requests to have this expedited, this figure has still not been sent. 

Bank of America has repeatedly lost track of the fact that my parents are deceased. I have been in steady contact with them since XX/XX/XXXX to resolve this situation and, as shown in the provided document, Bank of America offered its condolences on the death of the borrower and requested a death certificate as recently as XX/XX/XXXX. As recently as last week I was told I was not authorized to receive basic information on the account. This has happened countless times in the last years despite having gone through the authorization process and sending the required documentation and death certificates on many, many occasions. 

Furthermore, I received a notice dated XX/XX/XXXX from the law firm representing Bank of America in the foreclosure sale which indicated that they had no documentation confirming I am the Trustee of the Trust in which the property is held. I have provided this documentation to Bank of America many times. This notice, which demonstrated a lack of even basic information about my being connected to the property, stated that they would be pursuing foreclosure. I sent the Trust documents directly to the law firm with signature confirmation but on XX/XX/XXXX I received a notice that a sale date had been set. A request I made in writing in XX/XX/XXXX to have the debt verified and the name and address of the original creditor provided has still not been met. 

There is a first mortgage on the property, held by another investor and managed by another servicer, that is also in default and in foreclosure. Initially both this first mortgage and the HELOC were held by Bank of America but in XX/XX/XXXXBank of America sold the first mortgage. Rather than reviewing my eligibility for modification or letting me assume the loan, Bank of America took a loss in selling the first mortgage and complicated the situation greatly. Since then, Bank of America has essentially held the process of getting these loans resolved hostage. Bank of America has continued to refuse to review me for modification or for a settlement of the HELOC debt, thereby limiting my ability to achieve a long-term solution on the first mortgage as well. The first mortgage holder has said that they are unable to offer solutions until a resolution is reached with Bank of America. Bank of America is now saying that they will not let me modify or assume the loan because there is a first mortgage - a mortgage they sold! I have gone through the process multiple times of submitting cash settlement offers and packages as instructed with accompanying documents, only to be told upon following up, that the department to which I sent all these personal documents did not exist. This has happened several times. My hands have been tied. My frustration is beyond words. 

Bank of Americas refusal to recognize my rights as successor in interest and Trustee has resulted in growing debts on the property and the exact type of high arrearage amounts that the RI foreclosure mediation law is intended to prevent. There are several thousand dollars due in back taxes, a tax sale scheduled, and the house needs extensive work. I would like to attend to these things, but without access to a long-term solution with Bank of America, it would risk my financial security and health. Even if I could afford to get current on these debts, Bank of America could still foreclose tomorrow based on the policy theyve invoked of my not having any rights on the account due to my not being the borrower. I have been told that reinstating paying upwards of {$70000.00} ( they were not able to provide me even this figure ) on a debt that is not my own and on an account to which I can not receive a statement is my only option. I can not reinstate a second mortgagea second foreclosing mortgageon an underwater property. It would be financially reckless. I would not be eligible for the interest deductions to which homeowners are entitled, nor would I be gaining equity in the property. And the risk is still very real that Bank of America could foreclose no matter what. I simply have never been provided reasonable home retention options.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation