Some Good News for Once From BOA.......

[asphaltgambler]

.......indirectly. Some back story first though.

A few years ago my wife and I lost our home to foreclsoure which I documented here in painful detail. We had rented a s***y little 'shack' outside of town while we both worked hard, paid-down debt to position ourselves to buy a home. This was a 6 year log and hard process.

My profession was a BMW Technician, my wife was a surgical assistant in the medical field. In spite of the looming housing peak, we decided to build new as it was the best value then. We moved there in July '07 with great relief, our hard work paid off.

Just a few short months later, my work imploded - literally. What seemed like an endless supply of work almost went off the cliff overnight. I was fully commisioned paid as are most all in the industry. My wifes doctor suddenly decided he needed a break from life and shortened the work week from 5 days (sometimes 6) to ........2 days with plans to close and go on a world discovery-tour (his words)

It did not take long to burn through most all cash reserves. My wife took a part time job, I went to work at a new shop 60 miles away but these solutions did not work out in the long term.

We applied to BOA for a modification. Initially they all were responsive. The amount of forms and paperwork to document this is daunting. Ultimately we were approved and made 'trial payments' to prove our commitment on the deal (their words) Those payments were in line with the percentages set forth.

When we received the notice that we were approved for the last part (final) the paperwork we received had the payment $600. per month higher than the trial payments. Great. After reviewing all the documents; basically the math was wrong.............in their favor..................substantially so.

At that time with enough patience you could find out everything one needed to know about the federal guidelines governing the Banks actions on these loans. So I contacted BOA and stated that very specifially their math was wrong, I detailed why and where in the loan document their error.

I informed them I was not signing. Long story to fast forward - they foreclosed. I went to such lengths during and after the process including going to court to fight the foreclosure in person with representation where the trail of legit paperwork did not add up. The judge basically completely rebuffed our case, wouldn't have or even begin to entertain it.

More fast forwarding................it has been very rough in the years since but we did survive and ultimately prosper. I have changed careers into IT work at a large county government facility and my wife works for a large practice now.

Last fall we received a letter from an attorney's group where we were part of the ongoing litigation with BOA and 4 other large banks relating to improper foreclosures. We almost did not respond because A) Did not really think anything would come of it and B) Did not want to open old painfull wounds that were just starting to heal. As a matter of fact, I kept the letter on my desk at home for almost a month before completing the form and mailing out with just a day to spare.

Last Friday, I receive a notice where at the Post office there was a certified letter but not sender information. I go there and pick it up, but the signing, verification was a little lengthy....unusual.


Outside I open it and there is check to me for .......................................$25,000. I feel vindicated although not completely. There is a little justice in my world today

[sammyg2]

[GWN7]

I remember the original story and your frustration dealing with BOA. It's nice when a happy ending happens even if it's years down the road.

Nice picture Sammy

[RANDY P]

That rocks. Congrats.

rjp

[MBAtarga]

Glad things worked out for you in the long run!

[john70t]

Sorry for your troubles. The Judge basically allowed bait-n-switch and/or fraud.

Justice is rare, but it happens.
Sweet Justice! FL Homeowner Forecloses On Bank of America | Crooks and Liars
So, how did it end with bank being foreclosed on? After more than 5 months of the judge's ruling, the bank still hadn't paid the legal fees, and the homeowner's attorney did exactly what the bank tried to do to the homeowners. He seized the bank's assets.

[Zeke]

Now, you pay tax on the 25K. Bank of Italy should be foreclosed...



permanently. My wife banks at BOA. I won't set foot in the place. They are criminals. She knows that and does it to piss me off. Plus, she knows I won't look at at paperwork from them. She has to get it first before I shred it.

[asphaltgambler]

I would imagine that some people here (and elsewhere) would look at this on the surface with some contempt. WE were one of the much smaller % that worked hard in every way to achieve this. My wife and I separately had endured some setbacks previously including divorces and honestly; a series of poor choices personally.

Then I was in my 40's and her younger, not far behind. So the goal of home ownership (again) and financial independence were paramount. This time we accomplished this the way our parents did. By living below our means, saving, doing with-out. We did a HUGE amount of market research prior to buying/building our home. I'll say that in late December 2006 we were very aware of the market peaking within the next year and possibly sliding backwards.

At that point we were in the drivers seat; buyer wise. But we discussed almost to no end should we buy in Jan 2007 or wait the market out. By building new in the area we would have more equity cushion than say if we bought existing homes.

Going forth we set a monthly budget with possible 15% reduction in income even though tracking both of our W-2's that had not happened in 8 years prior. My income alone was enough to secure a fixed rate mortgage with very good numbers. We together put down a substantial deposit. in short we did everything the the most everyone did notdo.

So................... OK................................shame on us for having professions that are affected greatly by the economic climate. That was bad enough. But the shenanigans that were involved from the start initially with Country Wide mortgage > then with BOA was Unf@%ing believable. It was only then after much more research into the loan-mod program was a complete farce.

BOA was the only bank big enough to absorb Country Wides' fiasco. They weren't goin in with-out some big gain to take on a big bag of s....t. Our treasury dept designed the way out for them where they were guaranteed a huge potential profit for them. Of course the rest of the story is history.

The $25K does not even come close to making us whole, but it's a good %. I'll take it. I would like to know who the individuals are that started this review then held their hands to the fire. I'd like to thank them personally.