Consumer complaint received 2022-04-26
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NJ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
MY NAME IS XXXX XXXX MY WIFE XXXX XXXX XXXX WE CAME TO THE USA IN XXXX WE ARE MARRIED, 4 CHILDREN, 4 GRAND CHILDREN, AND WE OWE 2 RENTAL PROPERTIES IN XXXX WE ARE CITIZENS.OF THE USA IN XXXX, AFTER BEING RENTERS FOR 7 YEARS, WE SAVED {$10000.00}, AND WE BOUGHT A 2 FAMILY HOME, AT XXXX XXXX XXXX IN XXXX, NJ. 
WE RENTED THE FIRST FLOOR, AND WE RAISED OUR 4 CHILDREN ON FLOOR 2. 

15 YEARS LATER, PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT, WE BOUGHT A 3 FAMILY HOUSE IN XXXX NJ AT XXXX XXXX XXXX SEE XXXX PAGE IN XXXX WE PURCHASED OUR PRESENT 2 FAMILY RESIDENCE AT XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX NJ XXXX 

FINALY, IN XXXX, WE ADDED ANOTHER INVESTMENT PROPERTY AT XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX NJ. 

EVERYTHING WAS JUST FINE UNTILL XXXX WE LOST OUR JOBS FOR A VERY LONG TIME. 
AS A CONSEQUENCE, WE DEFAULTED ON OUR OBLIGATIONS. 

AS SOON A WE REGAINED EMPLOYMENT WE RUSHED TO SAVE OUR PROPERTIAS. 

WE NEEDED PROFESSIONAL HELP SO WE HIRED A LAW FIRM CALLED, " XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX IN XXXX AND BEYOND THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM WAS IN CAOS. 

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT IS WELL DESCRIBED BY THE CFPB DIRECTOR XXXX XXXX 
PLEASE REED BELOW. 

SERVICERS WERE OVERWHELMED WITH MODIFICATIONS. 
IT WOULD TAKE US 5 YEARS TO MODIFY THE 4 LOANS. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX TOOK {$10.00}, HAD US SENDING UPDATED DOCUMENTS FOR 2 YEARS, AND PRODUCED ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. 
WE THEN APPLIED TO BANK OF AMERICA, WHO DID NOT, PRODUCE ANY MODIFICATION IN 2 YEARS. 

THEN, BANK OF AMERICA TURNED AROUND, AND SERVED US A FORECLOSURE NOTICE FOR THE XXXX XXXX PROPERTY. 

HERE IS WHERE THE NIGHTMARE STARTED!!! 

WE HAD NO MONEY LEFT FOR LEGAL FEES. 
SO I HAD TO TAKE A CRSH COURE IN " PRO-SE LEGAL DEFENSE. '' I CONTESTED THE FORECLOSURE I WENT TO TRIAL IN THE XXXX XXXX I FACED BANK OF AMERICA LEGAL TEEM, AND XXXX XXXX, WHO WAS PRESIDING OVER THE TRIAL, AND WHO REMINDED ME TO FOLLOW THE RULES. 

SHORTLY AFTER, BANK OF AMERICA MODIFIED MY LOAN. 
BANK OF AMERICA, REDUCED PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST BY 50 % THIS LOAN HAS BEEN IN VERY GOOD FINANCIAL HEALTH, EVER SINCE. 

TODAY, THE XXXX XXXX XXXX PROPERTY, ABSOLUTELLY DESERVES, IN OUR OPINION, THE SAME TREATMENT, OF FAIRNES AND JUSTICE. 


TODAY WE DESPERATELY NEED HELP WITH THE XXXX XXXX XXXX PROPERTY, EVEN, IF WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO COURT. 

THIS PROPERTY IS UNDER CONTRACT.. 
WE NEED TO REDUCE THE PAYOFF BALLANCE, WHICH HAS BALOONED TO OVER {$800000.00}, DURING THE XXXX CRISIS THEN, AND COVID 19 NOW. 
SEE XXXX ESTIMATE ON XXXX PAGE. 

WE DESPERATELY NEED HELP FROM CFPB, BANK OF AMERICA AND XXXX, WHO IS THE PRESENT SERVICER. 

WE WANT TO RETIRE. 
WE DESERVE IT. 
WE WORKED VERY HARD, ON THESE 2 XXXX RENTAL PROPERTIES. 

BEST REGARDS, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Prepared Remarks of CFPB Director XXXX XXXX on the XXXX XXXX XXXX Press Call By XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX SHARE & PRINT Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking its first enforcement action under the Bureaus new mortgage servicing rules. We are entering an order against XXXXbased XXXX XXXX  for violating those rules by failing borrowers and illegally blocking them from trying to save their homes. XXXX took excessive time to process borrowers applications, did not tell them when their applications were incomplete, denied loan modifications to qualified borrowers, and illegally delayed finalizing permanent loan modifications. These unlawful practices caused many consumers to lose the homes they had been trying to save. That is wrong and it is unacceptable. 
Mortgage servicers play a central role in homeowners lives because they bear responsibility for managing the loans. They are the link between a mortgage borrower and a mortgage owner. They collect and apply payments, work out modifications to the loan terms, and handle the difficult process of foreclosure. Importantly, consumers can not take their business elsewhere. Instead, they are stuck with their mortgage servicer, whether they are treated well or poorly. 
In XX/XX/XXXX, the Consumer Bureaus new mortgage servicing rules took effect. These new regulations establish specific rules of the road for handling loss mitigation applications. Since we first announced these rules almost two years ago, we have made clear that we expect full compliance to clean up the problems that had been pervasive in this industry and caused so many people to lose their homes. Consumers must not be hurt by illegal servicing any more. When mortgage servicers fail to treat people fairly, we will vigorously enforce the law. 
Like many other servicers, XXXX found that its volume of applications for loss mitigation rose sharply as a result of the foreclosure crisis. Our investigation found that XXXX was simply not equipped to handle the influx. For a time, it took the staff up to nine months to review a single application. In XXXX, XXXX had 13,000 active loss mitigation applications but had only 25 full-time employees and a third-party vendor in XXXX reviewing them. The Bureau found that in XXXX loss mitigation call center, the average wait time was 25 minutes and the average call abandonment rate was almost XXXX percent. XXXX also had a heavy backlog of loss mitigation applications. 
To make things worse, we found that XXXX would clear its backlog of applications by closing those with expired documents even though the documents had expired because XXXX sat on them for so long. We also found that consumers would turn in loan modification applications but would not hear whether they were approved for many months. XXXX was supposed to send missing document letters to consumers so they could provide any missing information, but it often delayed or did not send them at all. 
We also concluded that when XXXX did evaluate a completed application, it did a poor job. For example, we believe it routinely miscalculated the incomes of borrowers. Because loss mitigation programs are heavily dependent on the borrowers income, this kind of miscalculation can have grave consequences for consumers. We determined that XXXX failures led to wrongful denials of loan modifications. 
Furthermore, when XXXX denied an application, it did not give homeowners a specific reason why. Under the Consumer Bureaus new rules, mortgage servicers must provide the specific reason why a complete application for a loan modification is rejected. This gives consumers a chance to fix the problem and either reapply or appeal the rejection. It also gives consumers more control over what is happening and provides them with critical information so they can make informed choices. 
Another new mortgage servicing right for certain homeowners is the right to appeal the denial of a loan modification. But XXXX has been wrongly telling borrowers that they only have the right to appeal if they live in certain states. That is not true. It does not matter what state the consumer lives in. 
Finally, for those consumers lucky enough to get a trial loan modification, XXXX kept them in a sort of trial mod purgatory for far too long. Indeed, XXXX needlessly prolonged trial periods, causing some borrowers loan amount under the modified note to increase and, in some cases, jeopardizing the potential for a permanent loan modification. 
Struggling homeowners paid a heavy price, including losing the opportunity to save their homes, as a result of XXXX illegal actions. These problems were compounded because consumers have almost nowhere to turn. In the mortgage servicing market, they could not take their business elsewhere but were stuck with whatever treatment they received from XXXX. 
As we have seen for many years now and I have seen it in local government, state government, and now the federal government mortgage servicing failures hurt homeowners. In many cases, we believe XXXX deprived people of the ability to make an informed choice about how to save or sell their home, causing borrowers to drop out of the process entirely and driving them into foreclosure. A former manager testified that when borrowers got to an advanced stage of delinquency, You can feel that theyve given up. Theres no hope left. Another former manager recalled a borrower who told him, You know what? My home can just go to foreclosure. Im not faxing any documentation anymore. 
To remedy these wrongs, the Consumer Bureau is ordering XXXX to halt any further violations of federal law. XXXX must pay {$27.00} million to consumers whose loans were being serviced by XXXX and who were subject to its unlawful practices. At least {$20.00} million of this amount will go to victims of foreclosure. XXXX must also engage in outreach to affected borrowers who were not foreclosed on and offer them loss mitigation options. XXXX must halt the foreclosure process, if one is happening, during this outreach and qualification process. XXXX also is barred from acquiring servicing rights for default loan portfolios until it demonstrates that it is able to comply with the laws that protect consumers during the loss mitigation process. In addition, XXXX will make a {$10.00} million payment to the Bureaus Civil Penalty Fund.

The Bureau has been clear that mortgage servicers must follow our new servicing rules and treat homeowners fairly. Todays action signals a new era of enforcement to protect consumers against the cost of servicer runarounds. The financial crisis is still fresh in our minds and too many homeowners continue to feel its effects. We need all mortgage servicers to understand that they must step up and follow the law. We are working very hard to fulfill this objective. Thank you.

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