Bank of America loan modification
Bank of America is one of the largest mortgage servicing companies in the United States. If you have a Countrywide Home Loan, now you will be dealing with B of A since they bought Countrywide last year. They also by far have the most loan modification requests currently in process due to this economic crisis. But many homeowners simply do not know, or are confused on how the process works for a loan modification through Bank of America.
Bank of America may have some strict requirements to obtain a loan modification, but it is definitely possible to achieve as I have seen over and over again. If you are simply able to afford your home and just not your loan, you may be eligible for assistance.
If you qualify, a loan modification may allow you to catch up on late payments to become current, help lower monthly interest rate, or even possibly change the original terms of the loan completely. Also if you are one of many with a subprime or an option arm mortgage it may be easier for you to get out of the loan into a better fixed rate loan. Most lenders will help you get out of these loans as soon as possible because of all the predatory lending that was involved in the original loan application.
Remember not all the time modifications will result in a lower monthly payment. Depending on how delinquent you are on your mortgage, BofA may offer to waive the past due months and allow you to catch up and become current on your loan. They may also offer what is called a forbearance agreement which is also typically for homeowners who have fallen behind on their payments.
This agreement is usually only for a short amount of time (3-6) months. What this will do is allow the borrower to have “no” payment for these few months or even a significantly lowered payment during this period of time. After the agreement is completed the borrower will become current and continue on his regular mortgage payments. If you feel this is perfect in your situation make sure you request this from Bank of America when applying for the loan modification.
It is also important to be aware that Bank of America is one of the major participating lenders in Obama’s new loan modification programs. The new programs main goal is to help reduce the homeowners monthly payment in order for the payment to not exceed 31% of the borrower’s gross monthly income. This new payment of 31% will include other mortgage expenses as well such as principle, interest, mortgage insurance, property taxes, and HOA dues. But in order to qualify for these programs you are required to meet these guidelines:
- The property must be your primary residence
- Your loan amount can not exceed a balance more than $729,750
- You must have got the loan prior to January 1,2009
- Your current monthly payment must be over 31% of your gross monthly income
But even if you do qualify under these guidelines you must realize that there are still other factors involved as well. You must also prove to the lender that you can and will be able to pay the new modified monthly payment. To do this you will be required to prepare and submit all of your financial information including; your most recent paystubs, bank statements, tax returns, etc.
When you first initially contact your lender for assistance you should have an idea of what kind of loan and payment you can afford that will fit your monthly budget. Also when first applying for a loan modification make sure you understand the process as much as possible and are ready to negoitate your loan with confidence. Always be polite and kind, but firm at the same time. Remember they are the ones helping you get into an affordable mortgage and are not required to do so.
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About Evan Bedard
Evan Bedard has worked with various law firms since 2007 has a top Countrywide Home Loan modification processor. Evan has been instrumental in helping the various law firms and homeowners save over 800 homes. He is also a mortgage guide in the LoanSafe forum and is helping homeowners daily.
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I tried to get help from Bank of America to do a loan modification on my adjustable rate. and I got no help .They did not give me any hope..
They seem do not be interested and helping people to keep their home.
I.m really sad and hopeless.
Marcia
I tried 4 times to get a modification. We are at a 39% ratio on the front end and 54% on the back end. We had a hardship when my husband was out of work for 4 months. Then when he did find a job it was for a much lower pay than before. Bank of America still refuses to help us and says we dont qualifiy because our total bills are $250 above our income. I am so confused about why they say we dont qualify when according to the workout sheets we do.
I have been trying to get help from Bank of America for 8 months I am also working with
an attorney base firm to help.. We bought in contra costa county when homes were outragously high.. and the Agents were making high commissions and selling these homes to people that really couldn’t afford them.. I don’t live in Hollywood I live in a small city.. The homes were being sold for $600,000 and higher.. People are loosing there home left and right.. The only way a person can save there home is through a principal reduction,, fair Market value. B of A only wants to put a bandage on the problem temporarily. They offered to give me a fixed rate for a few years and then
my payment will shoot up to $4,000 per month.. this will put us way over the 31% of our income.. They were given bail out money to help and keep people in their homes. Instead they are helping themselves.. We must pull together and pull out our savings and checking dollars.. Maybe that way they will help ..
Today I received a call from BofA. I having been trying to get a loan modification since April 2009. I started with Taylor, Bean & Whitaker and in August had to start with BofA all over again when they took over my loan. This has been the year from hell. Lost my job in January my partner got sick in February and we couldn’t get any help from Taylor, Bean cause we were not behind. Finally in June we missed a payment and started more paper work with Taylor, Bean. Sent a payment in mid July and called Taylor, Bean only to find out they had sold our note to BofA. Find out by phone that Taylor, Bean had been closed down by a phone from some agency wanting to know if we wanted to re-fi with them since Taylor, Beam was out of business. The best BofA said they do is to cut my interest rate from 7% to 5% payment goes from 1900 to 1700. Hello, did I not request the making home affordable program. I am told that is the best they can do since I have an FHA. This just doesn’t sound right. I think they can do better.
We applied for a loan modification with BofA in November of 2008 it is now November 2009 and we have received no word on our modificaton?
We missed 2 months of mortgage payments (Dec 08, Jan 09) when I lost my job last year. In January we called to see if we could modify our loan or get on a repayment plan. The man on from B of A told me we needed to be 90 days behind before we would qualify for a modification. Like a couple of idiots, my husband and I believed this crook. So of course when we missed our third payment (Feb 09) we were told we didn’t qualify for a modification. In June 09 we spoke with our VA rep who assured us he was working with B of A to get us on a repayment plan. We finnaly heard back fro
….from B of A last month (Oct 09) when they told us we were denyed the repayment plan. So for the past 9 months we have been making our minimum monthly payment along with $134 a month in late fees and are getting no where! I talked to B of A again last night to qualify for a modification again…of course we didn’t qualify and she advised me that we would need to be 6 months behind before we will qualify! I don’t think so! I have no clue what to do from here…we have sent in our letter of hardship 5 times, applied for modifcations several time and a repayment plan and still nothing!
We just started talking to B of A about refinancing our home. The first mortgage is a Freddie-Mac loan that was bought from Countrywide when they tanked. Husband lost his job at the end of August when the company closed with no warning. He found another job in 3 weeks but at 23,000 less a year. We have been struggling to make our payments, but have managed not to be late..so far. They charged us a $400 (non-refundable)application fee and sent a 40 page packet to fill out and fax back. They said that they can lower our rate from 6.75% to 5.37% and add in $5,000 worth of closing costs. This puts our payment at $1,014.00 instead of $1218.85. I asked if HAMP loan would be better considering our housing with taxes is about 47% of our gross income and we were told that we had to be at least 2months late on our payments and a HAMP was only temporary! I am getting more nervous about doing this. I don’t trust them!
Don’t trust B Of A, they denied assisting us when my husband had a job, denied us after he lost his job. They give us the run around. I feel like I’m goldielocks looking for the words to tell them that are “just right”. We been told we make too much, too little, and last resort we were going to have roomates, even with that income, B of A denied us. Bottom line, I don’t think they are willing to help, especially since our home is in a demographic nicer area. I’m pretty sure they just want the house. What a shame. I feel like us americans who did everything right to qualify are the ones having to fight the hardest for assistance and we still aren’t getting the help we need.
wow I am curious, who are the other people who are not “us americans who die everything right”/