Consumer complaint received 2017-07-18
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MD
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Sir/Madam, Bank of America is still continuing to not give me the runaround about Mortgage Forbearance I applied for. I have been ill and was laid off from my job. After spending almost all my saving to continue to pay my mortgage I could pay it any longer so I informed Bank of America and requested for Special Forbearance which is the FHA government assisted program for homeowners who are unemployed or sick and therefore are unable to pay their mortgage. The Special Forbearance program was for the Banks to suspend mortgage payments of unemployed homeowners for 12 months until they get a job to resume paying their mortgages.
Bank of has been giving me the runaround like saying they have not received all me documents after telling me that they had received all my documents and that it going for a review. Then will turn around and send me another letter that they have not received all the documents. At times, when I called about the conflicting statements they would tell me to ignore the subsequent letters and that they are being generated automatically. This has been going since  XX/XX/XXXX , and I had to file a complaint in   XXXX   with CPFB. After asking me to resubmit the whole application package again, they let me know again in  XXXX  that they have received all my documents. The time I insisted that they put this writing in a form of a letter which they did by sending a letter dated  XX/XX/XXXX  stating that my application is complete and that they evaluating for the loan assistance programs.
Later I received a letter from Bank of America dated  XX/XX/XXXX , stating that I only qualified for Short Sale of my house.They had tried this Short Sale on me in  XX/XX/XXXX  and I told them I needed Special Forbearance according to the FHA regulation.
The Special Forbearance which I actually applied for and which I am qualified for because I have been ill and unemployed, they are now telling me that I did not qualify for it because they said I am delinquency exceeds 12 months. But actually, my delinquency have not exceeded 12 months. Despite their attempts giving me the runaround to have to make delinquency exceeds 12 months, it has not because my first complaint to CFPB forced them to work on my application. After I have pointed this out to   XXXX   XXXX   and   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX    respectively, they could not give me any specific or reasonable answer why I am within the 12 months of delinquency and they have not considered me for the Special Forbearance which was the program I applied for straight from the beginning of my application.
According to FHA regulations - The Special Forbearance ( SFB ) - Unemployment Option is a Home Retention Option available when one or more of the Borrowers has become unemployed and this loss of employment has negatively affected the Borrowers ability to continue to make their monthly Mortgage Payment.
The Mortgage must meet the following condition at the time the SFB - Unemployment Agreement is executed : be at least three months past due ( 61 Days Delinquent ), but not more than 12 months due and unpaid As a matter of fact, FHA came out with a new regulation in  XX/XX/XXXX  which has asked banks to " Eliminate the minimum 12-month delinquency term to qualify for FHAs special forbearance option, which will allow servicers extend this option to unemployed households sooner in their delinquency ''.
More importantly, I have been offered a job by a government contractor and I have to do a Federal Security Clearance. My preliminary investigation came last week and they preliminary denied my clearance because of the Bank of America delinquencies which Bank of America reported to the Credit Bureaus. When I was filling up the forms I explained to TSA, the agency, why I was in delinquent and that I was working with Bank of America to get Special Forbearance to suspend my mortgage and allow me to find an employment.
Anyway, I was informed that the best way I could get the clearance is to show proof that I have paid the delinquent amount or get the Special Forbearance and present TSA with the Special Forbearance letter. So I really need the Special Forbearance which I qualify for to allow me to get the clearance to start working I pay my delinquent amount.

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