Consumer complaint received 2017-07-10
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
Bank of America intentionally gave me too much loan for a house that was intentionally over priced. The seller back in XX/XX/XXXX said the house had a square footage of 2,360 sq ft on the seller's ad and I informed Bank of America about it in XX/XX/XXXX (over a month before I bought the house) to verify the square footage of the house because XXXX County listed it as 1,920 sq ft online, but it may have been old data. The appraisal of XX/XX/XXXX when I bought the home said the home was 2,132 sq ft, so we bought the home for $XXXX. 

I am now trying to appraise my home to remove the PMI because the value of my home at 2,132 sq ft should be close to $XXXX, which will put me below the 75% LTV ratio. To my surprise, the value of my home was $XXXX solely because the square footage of my home was 1,932 (despite the upgrade to my home) and the Bank of America appraiser (XXXX XXXX) said it was one of the smallest homes in the area. I even paid $XXXX for the current appraisal to receive such bad news. Bank of America now wants me to pay $XXXX  to remove the PMI within 120 days of appraisal or the PMI will be removed by XX/XX/XXXX.

I want the PMI removed NOW because if we use the appraisal square footage from XX/XX/XXXX according to the latest Appraisal (page 3/6), my home should be $XXXX more and if I had used the actual XXXX County appraisal (1,790 sq ft) in XX/XX/XXXX, I would have bought the house for about $XXXX less based on square footage calculations in the XX/XX/XXXX appraisal. Bank of America MUST remove the PMI because they gave me TOO MUCH loan which is preventing my home from being below the required LTV ratio of 75%.

Please see emails below and attachment. Thanks.

*******

From: XXXX XXXX
XX/XX/XXXX

According to the attached disclosure statement dated XX/XX/XXXX, the PMI will be deleted when the LTV reached 75%. The cancelation date of the PMI based on the amortization schedule at that time was XX/XX/XXXX.
 
 
XXXX XXXX 
Resolution Specialist
*******

From: XXXX XXXX
Sent: Mon, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX +0000
To: XXXX 
Cc:
Subject: RE: RE: Re: appraisal

Hello XXXX XXXX: 

As mentioned below, property value is determined by multiple factors including square footage, property values of comparable homes in the immediate area, etc. Our research does not support that the property value as determined by XX/XX/XXXX appraisal was incorrect. 

According to the attached letter sent to you on XX/XX/XXXX, the principal reduction amount to qualify for PMI removal needs to be received prior to 120 days after the appraisal date.
******

From: XXXX  [mailto:XXXX]
Sent: Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX
To: XXXX XXXX 
Subject: RE: secmail:Re: appraisal 

Hi XXXX,

XXXX County tax appraiser told me that it was the appraiser done at my purchase that first stated it was 2132 sq ft, which was too high. According to the current appraiser report from Bank of America (XXXX XXXX), the current value of my house based on the purchase appraisal of XX/XX/XXXX (2132 sq ft) should be $XXXX more and the house based on XXXX County square footage back in XX/XX/XXXX (1790 sq ft) should have been purchased for $XXXX less. 

This is clearly a FRAUD by the seller/realtor because they knew what the footage was when he bought it, but they intentionally listed it as XXXX sq ft in the seller's paperwork and the appraiser played along. XXXX County tax appraiser suggested that I contacted you to help resolve the issue.

The email below also shows that I informed Bank of america about this over a month before I bought the house.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ehi 
Date: Fri, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX
Subject: Re: upfront docs to sign to expedite your closing
To: "XXXX XXXX" 

Hi XXXX, 

I have not heard from the appraiser in two days, but have him verify the sq ft. It says 2360 sq ft in the seller's ads, but XXXX tax online says 1920 sq ft.

Thanks.
**********

XXXX XXXX XXXX 
XX/XX/XXXX (12 days ago)

to me 
Good morning, the area that we have listed for your home is 1,790 Square feet from our onsite inspection. If you have any further questions you can give me a call. Thanks

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