Consumer complaint received 02/20/2018 about Debt collection (Mortgage debt) with BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (NJ).
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint: This is complicated. But we can afford to pay our mortgage so why can't we? 

I have been living in my home paying a mortgage/rent for 15 years. I fell into hard times in XXXX and my father in law bought the house from the bank for us to save it and to reduce monthly costs. I continued paying the entire mortgage to the bank each month until XXXX. In XXXX my father in law did a loan modification with the bank to lower monthly costs. The monthly mortgage rate would now be {$1800.00}. We did those payments for the required 4 months. Next the bank just needed a signed approval form on the new Mortgage rate. The Bank said they sent it to our location XXXX XXXX, but we never got it. We called the bank they said they could not resend it because it was past the due date and they would not take our monthly payment. I do not have anything but verbal proof of this. 

I hired a lawyer after 2 months of no communication with Bank of America, BOA. My lawyer = the XXXX XXXX XXXX who specializes in Loan Modification Specialties. 

At the same time my father in law XXXX XXXX. He left the house to his estate, my husband and his two sisters. The two sisters wanted us to keep the house just as we wanted to keep the house. We told the bank what happened and they said we had to Short Sale the home. But why, no one would tell me my options== bank of america made us contact so many departments, and everywhere was no help.We couldn't get anyone at BOA to speak to us so I had to leave it all to our Legal Group , assigning them that right.

The Legal Group said we should try for an Assumption plan to get approved. We were trying to do a Loan Modification through a different department too, but we were not getting any where. We were denied for the Loan Modification, the bank said because the owner died. But we wanted to save the house. My legal group said it wouldn't work. So in the mean time we continued to try to get the Assumption Plan passed, that took 2 years! Why so long, finally We had been sent in XX/XX/XXXX a foreclosure notice from the courts from BOA, Foreclosure date : XX/XX/XXXX Auction date. 

Then still pending any notice from BOA, weeks before foreclosure, we finally get denied for the Assumption Plan. No reason attached. But my lawyer said they wanted us to pay XXXX to do the Assumption Plan. At that time we had not that amount in our bank, I had to time to prepare. We assume that is why BOA denied us but we could have gotten that amount if we had, had time or if we knew who to speak to. 

Then our Legal Group said we should apply for a mortgage and buy out the home from BOA. We only had 3 weeks to save the home. Everything was going good until the under-writer said my husband was on the deed to the home and we no longer can apply for a mortgage ( you can not buy something you own ). No one asked us about the deed, but our Legal Group knew all our history. Why couldn't the BOA or even our Legal Group tell us that, or even help us with options to save our home.

Our Legal Group has been through so many departments but I feel they are not concentrating on my case, I did however pay them a lot of money. I have tried to contact the bank on my own but they will not speak to me without my Legal Group on the phone. BOA said I need to fill out a Seize and Desist letter, eliminating my Legal Groups ' help. At this time, I am scared to do that. I do not want to loose my home. And I do not want to eliminate help. 

I gave in writing a letter to BOA allowing my Legal Group all access to my case, I gave BOA the Legal Groups phone number and their address instructing BOA to send all correspondence and phone calls to the Legal Group, still they are not sending everything to them. 

On XX/XX/XXXX BOA send a Uniform Borrowers Assistant form to the Executor of my husbands ' fathers Estate. Which is his sister who wrote a letter to BOA relinquishing all her rights ( in the very beginning of this problem ), telling the bank to send all documents to the Legal Group and me, my address. They still don't abide. Now I have a new foreclosure date of XX/XX/XXXX, I do not have much time. And what is this Uniform Borrowers form?, well my Legal Group says its a Loan Modification form ... .. 

In the beginning, we were denied Loan Modification because they said the Loan and the deed are two separate things. Now they send us this form? This form is different that anything I have gotten before, do I have other options? I have no one to answer these questions. It is attached. 

I do not know what to do at this point. I do not know why we can not speak to someone at BOA who can help us save our home, we just get the run around and I pay for outside help and still get the run around.

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