Consumer complaint received 2017-01-17
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure — 
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (IL)

In XXXX of XXXX, I purchased a townhome for {$93000.00}. ( My mortgage company was originally Countrywide, but it was eventually sold to Bank of America. ) Over the course of the next several years, I fell behind in my mortgage payments due to unemployment/underemployment and a house fire that caused my family to be out of the home for 10 months. I requested a loan modification, and was told my only option at that time was to have my late payments added back into the principle loan amount, reduced the interest rate from 6.5 % to 3.875 %, and spread the remaining principle balance over 30 years. Basically, I repurchased my townhome for {$100000.00}. I was not provided a copy of anything to indicate the valuation used to determine the loan modification amount, as is required by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX a ) ( XXXX ). 
At that time, the larger, newly-remodeled townhome adjacent to mine sold for less than {$40000.00}. While I recognized this was not ideal, I was in a desperate situation and was told by Bank of America that if I did not accept and comply with those terms, I would lose my home in foreclosure. I have since complied with the loan modification and remained current on my payments. 
When I first purchased the townhouse, I was a single mother of XXXX child. In XXXX, I married my daughter 's father ( my high school sweetheart ), and in XXXX, my son was born. I am now the married mother of a XXXX daughter who is a freshman in high school and sharing a room with her XXXX brother. We have outgrown this house and are in dire need of a bigger home. While I have had a good and stable income for the past several years, and have re-established a good credit score, owning this townhouse has been a major hindrance to being able to qualify for a sufficient loan to purchase another house. The current principle balance on the loan is {$95000.00} ; the few townhomes in the area that have sold were sold for under {$30000.00}. The payment for this townhouse is a big hit to my debt-to-income ratio. I have appealed and gotten a reduction on my property taxes and obtained cheaper homeowners insurance ; the only remaining obstacle is the high principle balance. 
I have reached out to Bank of America for help in the past several months to seek another modification. I have been told that I do not qualify for another modification beyond what I 've already received, because I am not currently facing a financial hardship, am employed, and current on my mortgage. I was advised by a lawyer to revisit the loan modification to see if anything was done incorrectly during that process. I am wondering if the fact that a. ) I was not provided with an appraisal, and b. ) I was coerced by Bank of America to accept the terms offered to me ( effectively putting me 60 % underwater on my loan, at best ) or risk losing my home in foreclosure constitute fraudulent activity on the part of Bank of America. 
I am not willing to fall behind on my mortgage and jeopardize my creditworthiness to get help with a mortgage on a home that no longer meets my needs. It seems like I am being punished for doing things the " right way '' and as long as I do so, Bank of America will keep me bound to this exorbitant mortgage. I am seeking a principle reduction on my mortgage loan to align the loan with the current market value of the home.