Consumer complaint received 2016-06-10
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Other bank product/service
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
I went to the XXXX XXXX Bank of America ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX CA XXXX ) to request a mortgage loan on XXXX/XXXX/2016. I spoke with their mortgage loan officer. I provided him with the required documentation and after he reviewed it and made calculations he provided me with a conditional approval letter. At that time, he stated that I could start looking for properties and could submit offers ; as I would be looked as a serious buyer with the letter he provided me with. Approximately a week later, I found a condo I liked, but it required a higher amount than what the conditional pre-approval letter stated. I visited him again to sign additional documentation and I inquired about the possibility of increasing my loan. He stated that I could increase my loan amount by {$10000.00}. A day or two later he contacted me and told me that I should stick with the parameters set during the time that he gave me the conditional approval letter. He wished me luck and said that once I found a property the loan was going to be processed quickly as everything was in line. I proceeded to look for a property that fit the parameters he had given me. On Saturday, XXXX/XXXX/2016, I had my agent submit an offer on an ideal property. After consideration from the seller, who received six offers, my offer was accepted. Approximately an hour before I received the news that my offer was accepted on XXXX/XXXX/2016, the loan officer called me to tell me that the loan amount he had originally pre-qualified me for was not applicable. After several frustrating calls, I decided to take time off from work and make an appointment to see him the next day, as I needed to make a deposit so that escrow could open on the house. During this meeting, the loan officer said that information had come in after reviewing my tax returns and it caused my monthly income to be lowered, thus putting me above the debt to income ratio. However, even with this information, he continued to provide me with false hope. He told me that he was going to do what ever he could to resolve this issue. He also suggested that if he could not fix the issue, I could provide an additional {$10000.00} to the {$40000.00} down-payment and it would lower my debt to income ration below the 43 % ratio. As a buyer, I told him that I could n't provide {$10000.00} out of thin air. I left his office and was to expect a call from him before noon. At XXXX I called him and he said that he got his superiors to look into my file. Once again, he provided me with false hope as he said that their decision to even look at my file was a good indicator of potentially approving my loan. He told me he would call me by XXXX with a final decision. During this time, I proceeded to ask my friends for a loan in case it was necessary. I managed to secure a {$10000.00} loan from one of my friends. When he called at XXXX he stated that it was impossible to approve the loan as is. I then told him that I could provide the additional {$10000.00} on top of the down-payment. At this time he said that that was not a possibility. I was baffled as he had just told me that earlier. He stated that I misunderstood and that in order to get the loan I needed, I would have to put down {$80000.00}. As a result, I lost the house I was so excited to purchase. Being a first time home buyer is an already difficult time, but Bank of America 's mortgage loan officer made this experience a complete nightmare. If he had been honest and realistic with his information, I would have never been put in such a predicament. I felt like a fool as I presented myself as a serious buyer to the seller being backed up by what I believed to be a reputable institution. I would have appreciated an honest guidance from the mortgage loan officer as opposed to deception and insincere responses.

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