Consumer complaint received 2018-01-27
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I've copied below a letter I submitted to BOA National office. I added some details to help you assist me. 

XX/XX/XXXX Bank of America Corporate office XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NC XXXX Attn : XXXX Client Complaint ( updated XX/XX/XXXX, received call from XXXX XXXX, XXXX BOA, XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX who agreed XXXX XXXX misrepresented my income and liabilities on my application submitted to Underwriters but said BOA can not compensate me by law. Said he would communicate my letter back to XXXX XXXX, XXXX Managing Director yet to hear from anyone. ) Dear Sirs : I am writing to request your attention to my concerns with both BOA loan management and our current XXXX Client Wealth Mgmt team. You may already be aware through an escalation raised recently by my branch XXXX Client Relations Mgr, XXXX XXXX, otherwise here is a summary. 

Last spring, I informed our XX/XX/XXXX Wealth Mgr, XXXX XXXX that my wife and I were interested in pursuing a XXXX exchange of our current So Beach property for a similar investment property on the West Coast of XXXX. XXXX connected me with the teams Real Estate specialist XXXX XXXX. In order to understand how much we could afford to spend, I proceeded to have some very detailed financial discussions with XXXX and XXXX. Our initial plan was to list our condo for sale and begin searching for replacement properties, locations of interest. We were hopeful that our condo would sell quickly and wanted to have potential replacement properties identified given the XXXX timeline requirements. Meanwhile, XXXX and XXXX connected me with XXXX XXXX, BOA Loan Mgr, to begin discussing the mortgage process. Late summer we found a property we were very interested in so I contacted XXXX to inquire whether we could qualify for a contingency loan to show sellers we would qualify once our condo sold. XXXX asked how much the new property was listed for and when I said $ XXXX he said he saw no problem in prequalifying us without the sale of the condo. Later that evening XXXX emailed a prequalification letter for a purchase price of $ XXXX and loan amount of $ XXXX, which was one of  several letters he sent us exceeding $ XXXX. 
Upon learning from XXXX we had preapproval on a loan exceeding $ XXXX, I contacted XXXX and XXXX to discuss whether we could afford to close and carry another property and loan of such value. A few days later they provided an extensive review of my portfolio and various scenarios, and cited though tight, we could make it work. At one point, XXXX said our financials could handle a purchase up to $ XXXX, though that amount would be strapping until the condo sells. We agreed to stay in contact as I get more details on a potential purchase. 
Subsequently my wife and I made additional trips and began formal bids on two separate properties, ultimately entering into a contract in XX/XX/XXXX for a $ XXXX property. We immediately contacted XXXX to initiate the formal loan application. Upon submitting the application to underwriters, XXXX informed me that everything looks good. He said, though our debt to income ratio was around 43 % the top of the range, ( first time he mentioned any concern ), he reviewed it with his manager who has prior underwriter experience and said they both expect it to be approved. We proceeded with additional trips to meet with realtors, attorneys, and property inspectors. 
Meanwhile I had several conversations with XXXX discussing multiple ideas such as reduced loan fees, rate points, and locked interest rates. At no point did XXXX express any concern with the Underwriters approving our loan. Approximately 10 days after our application was submitted, I called XXXX for an update on our loan and he informed me that the loan was denied. He asked if we know of anyone else who could co-sign the loan so we could include their income. He explained the underwriters disallowed his request to treat the condo as owner-occupied which recalculated our debt to income ratio from 43 % to ~ 70 %. He said he thought that would work and would continue discussing options with his manager and get back to me. That was the last conversation I had with XXXX. 
The next day, I contacted my XXXX Client team, XXXX and XXXX, and demanded for them to explain to me how we got into this situation given they have full visibility to all our finances and requested their help with the loan. I asked how XXXX could treat my condo as owner-occupied when he and everyone else involved in managing my account is fully aware that we treat the condo as a rental property and reside in XXXX. They committed to follow up and suggested I reach out to other banks for a potential loan, preferably smaller local banks that may not be restricted to the same regulations. I asked XXXX to have his manager call me to explain what happened. A few days later, I called XXXX back and asked whether he asked his manager to call me and asked for his name. He said his name is XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX Area Managing Director, and he mentioned it to him the day before. A few hours later XXXX called me. It was clear to me early into the conversation that XXXX did not have the facts and was just simply calling me to appease my request. At one point, XXXX said in so many words that at the end of the day were all just interested in getting the deal done and since youll eventually get the deal done theres nothing lost. When I asked him what he meant, he said he was told we would qualify for the new property once our condo sellswhich was still listed without an offer. I expressed to XXXX that it was obvious he didnt have the facts and asked him if he spoke with XXXX before calling me. He said XXXX just asked him to call me a few minutes earlier. I pointed out that XXXX told me he told XXXX the day prior. XXXX said no. I said then one of you is lying to me and this is a trust issue. XXXX then explained, XXXX mentioned to call me yesterday but they didnt have a chance to discuss the details until just before todays call. I explained to XXXX that Im not satisfied with the situation my XXXX Wealth team has gotten me into and requested he get back to me with a solution. The next day, XXXX called me on XXXX   behalf to explain they escalated the issue within BOA and the XXXX team didnt do anything wrong so there wasnt anything more they would do. I expressed my concerns again with how he and the team should have monitored XXXX actions and questioned how I could qualify for another ~ $ XXXX loan given my current financial picture that he and his team have full visibility. 
Meanwhile, my wife and I contacted multiple banks requesting various types of loans but were unable to secure financing therefore we had to cancel the contract before jeopardizing our $ XXXX deposit. 
In early XXXX I called XXXX Corporate to escalate my concerns since we realized we could no longer trust our current XXXX Wealth Mgmt team could help guide our financial needs effectively. The escalation was sent to XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX branch Client Relations Mgr. Basically XXXX has not been able to resolve my concerns and recently stated she passed my complaint to BOA because it doesnt involve XXXX. She also said that once I hear back from BOA we can decide whether to retain XXXX team. She clearly hasnt listened to my concerns. 

Hence this is the reason why I am now reaching out directly to BOA Corporate. I have two areas were looking for resolution. One, reimbursement of the inspection costs and attorney fees for the property we went under contract totaling {$3100.00}. This represents a portion of the financial impact my wife and I incurred and does not account for our time, travel expense and emotional loss. After providing multiple prequalification letters, we have lost credibility with the sellers and our realtor which may have a negative impact in the future. Two, besides this loan issue, we had been satisfied with the BOA / XXXX   financial solution and though weve lost trust with our current Client Wealth Mgmt team, we are interested in references to a new team, perhaps in our area, which is recommended to manage our financial needs moving forward. One concern going forward is if we look for BOA to provide a new loan that the team ensures the preliminary analysis is credible. The prior situation was very embarrassing and we dont want to go through it again43 % is not a math error from 70 %! 
. 


Sincere Regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX  CMAM Pledged account # XXXX BOA loan application # XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX personal cell ( unavailable XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ) XXXX work cell ( on business in XXXX XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX )

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 monetary relief