12 replies to this topic

[PennyPinching]

So..
I've been in FHA HAMP modification process for 11 months now with Bank of America. March 30th, we received a loan packet via FedEx to sign and return to finalize our modification. We were so ecstatic, we went right out to our credit union and had them all notarized and FedEx overnight returned to B of A.
A couple days later, we get a single sheet of paper FedEx overnighted back to us saying that our signatures were incomplete. Apparently, my wife signed with her middle initial and they did not like that since it was not on the original paperwork. Whatever. This is a new agreement. So, I called and called and finally got ahold of our loan manager who told us to re-sign the packet (we have copies) and re-submit. So, we went to Wells Fargo this time, had them notarized, this time without my wife's middle initial, and overnighted back ($35).
Two weeks go by without a peep from them, so I start calling... and calling... and calling. No-one will return my call. I call my manager, his boss, that person's boss, and even that person's boss, only to leave voicemails with each of them saying they will return my call in no later than 24 hours. But, I did get to talk to someone who gave me hope, so I figured I'd hang on... Until just today, when I received a FedEx slip of paper saying this time, "there is an incomplete notary signature or seal". Of course I called... and called... and called. No-one, messages all the way around. Called customer service who said they would email my loan manager, but no callback. I am so frustrated at this point, and you know there is squat I can do about it.... BUT!
I called FHA today! For those who need it, the FHA Resource Center is at 877-622-8525, option #1 for modifications.
I talked to a rep who was beside herself that my FHA Mod is taking 11 months (11 mod payments!). She said it appears that B of A is trying to sideline me (which only fed my fear). FHA opened a ticket for me and is going to contact B of A. Supposedly, I am to hear back within 3 business days...
The rep said most people don't know they can call FHA and put pressure on their lender to complete the job... So, if you are in the same boat, call FHA and file a complaint.
Let me get this straight though: I am utterly grateful to Bank of America for helping us. I also understand they are overwhelmed with paperwork, but it is mandated to take 45 days, not a year. In that year, there are a number of factors that could disqualify a homeowner and that is what I am upset about. They can simply drag it out until they get reason to deny. This is not right.

Call FHA if you are being delayed unnecessarily.

Edited by emtownsend, 20 April 2012 - 03:54 PM.

[PennyPinching]

So..
I've been in FHA HAMP modification process for 11 months now with Bank of America. March 30th, we received a loan packet via FedEx to sign and return to finalize our modification. We were so ecstatic, we went right out to our credit union and had them all notarized and FedEx overnight returned to B of A.
A couple days later, we get a single sheet of paper FedEx overnighted back to us saying that our signatures were incomplete. Apparently, my wife signed with her middle initial and they did not like that since it was not on the original paperwork. Whatever. This is a new agreement. So, I called and called and finally got ahold of our loan manager who told us to re-sign the packet (we have copies) and re-submit. So, we went to Wells Fargo this time, had them notarized, this time without my wife's middle initial, and overnighted back ($35).
Two weeks go by without a peep from them, so I start calling... and calling... and calling. No-one will return my call. I call my manager, his boss, that person's boss, and even that person's boss, only to leave voicemails with each of them saying they will return my call in no later than 24 hours. But, I did get to talk to someone who gave me hope, so I figured I'd hang on... Until just today, when I received a FedEx slip of paper saying this time, "there is an incomplete notary signature or seal". Of course I called... and called... and called. No-one, messages all the way around. Called customer service who said they would email my loan manager, but no callback. I am so frustrated at this point, and you know there is squat I can do about it.... BUT!
I called FHA today! For those who need it, the FHA Resource Center is at 877-622-8525, option #1 for modifications.
I talked to a rep who was beside herself that my FHA Mod is taking 11 months (11 mod payments!). She said it appears that B of A is trying to sideline me (which only fed my fear). FHA opened a ticket for me and is going to contact B of A. Supposedly, I am to hear back within 3 business days...
The rep said most people don't know they can call FHA and put pressure on their lender to complete the job... So, if you are in the same boat, call FHA and file a complaint.
Let me get this straight though: I am utterly grateful to Bank of America for helping us. I also understand they are overwhelmed with paperwork, but it is mandated to take 45 days, not a year. In that year, there are a number of factors that could disqualify a homeowner and that is what I am upset about. They can simply drag it out until they get reason to deny. This is not right.

Call FHA if you are being delayed unnecessarily.

Wow. Called us back today. They say we missed signing a form that they said we didn't have to! First time around we did, second we did not since they said to not worry about it. Why can't they combine packets? This is getting old.

[KNJScorpio]

So..
I've been in FHA HAMP modification process for 11 months now with Bank of America. March 30th, we received a loan packet via FedEx to sign and return to finalize our modification. We were so ecstatic, we went right out to our credit union and had them all notarized and FedEx overnight returned to B of A.
A couple days later, we get a single sheet of paper FedEx overnighted back to us saying that our signatures were incomplete. Apparently, my wife signed with her middle initial and they did not like that since it was not on the original paperwork. Whatever. This is a new agreement. So, I called and called and finally got ahold of our loan manager who told us to re-sign the packet (we have copies) and re-submit. So, we went to Wells Fargo this time, had them notarized, this time without my wife's middle initial, and overnighted back ($35).
Two weeks go by without a peep from them, so I start calling... and calling... and calling. No-one will return my call. I call my manager, his boss, that person's boss, and even that person's boss, only to leave voicemails with each of them saying they will return my call in no later than 24 hours. But, I did get to talk to someone who gave me hope, so I figured I'd hang on... Until just today, when I received a FedEx slip of paper saying this time, "there is an incomplete notary signature or seal". Of course I called... and called... and called. No-one, messages all the way around. Called customer service who said they would email my loan manager, but no callback. I am so frustrated at this point, and you know there is squat I can do about it.... BUT!
I called FHA today! For those who need it, the FHA Resource Center is at 877-622-8525, option #1 for modifications.
I talked to a rep who was beside herself that my FHA Mod is taking 11 months (11 mod payments!). She said it appears that B of A is trying to sideline me (which only fed my fear). FHA opened a ticket for me and is going to contact B of A. Supposedly, I am to hear back within 3 business days...
The rep said most people don't know they can call FHA and put pressure on their lender to complete the job... So, if you are in the same boat, call FHA and file a complaint.
Let me get this straight though: I am utterly grateful to Bank of America for helping us. I also understand they are overwhelmed with paperwork, but it is mandated to take 45 days, not a year. In that year, there are a number of factors that could disqualify a homeowner and that is what I am upset about. They can simply drag it out until they get reason to deny. This is not right.

Call FHA if you are being delayed unnecessarily.

Wow. Called us back today. They say we missed signing a form that they said we didn't have to! First time around we did, second we did not since they said to not worry about it. Why can't they combine packets? This is getting old.

They cannot combine packets because there is a different date on each one. It sucks, but they have federal guidelines that they have to follow and that is ecspeically true with MHA. I'm sorry you have gone through this for so long. I hope that this all works out for you and you get relief from the program soon.

[SportsNut]

emt,

Your diligence will payoff here. Good move on contacting FHA, and also thanks for sharing that info for others.
B of A will move you to the expedite stack since they now know there is oversight. Good luck on this.

[goturtlego]

Good for you fot not giving up! I agree it's a pain...I still can't believe you have made 11 mod payments! Keep after them and you will be heard!

[PennyPinching]

Good for you fot not giving up! I agree it's a pain...I still can't believe you have made 11 mod payments! Keep after them and you will be heard!

Yesterday, I received a call from FHA following up. They wanted to know how the process was going at this point. I told them all appeared back on-schedule as we went to our local B of A branch and had them notarize the paperwork to make sure we did it properly. We resubmitted it via overnight mail and are now waiting for, hopefully, good news. They were very nice and just said to call them back if we need them.
Today, I also received a phone call from a B of A rep from the "Social Media" team. Liz was very nice and supportive. She mentioned that they sometimes monitor these boards and respond to folks to help square away their loans. I'm trying to take all of this as a positive, but I am SO cautious because it could either help things along their way (which I pray is the case), or have an unintended consequence of opening us up to too much scrutiny to nit-pick the modification into non-existence. But... It is a new year, spring is here finally, and things are looking up, so I am determined to take this positively. Liz was very reassuring. Once the mod is final, my health will improve too! LOL This really takes a toll when the process spans an entire year. If all goes well, I will be right back to post my praises of Liz and let you know how it went!! (Again, one thing is for certain, I will be educating my children based on our experience so they will be able to avoid being in this situation in their lifetime. My hope is they make financial stability a priority. Not wealth, per se, just stability.)

Edited by emtownsend, 25 April 2012 - 11:39 AM.

[PennyPinching]

Good for you fot not giving up! I agree it's a pain...I still can't believe you have made 11 mod payments! Keep after them and you will be heard!

Yesterday, I received a call from FHA following up. They wanted to know how the process was going at this point. I told them all appeared back on-schedule as we went to our local B of A branch and had them notarize the paperwork to make sure we did it properly. We resubmitted it via overnight mail and are now waiting for, hopefully, good news. They were very nice and just said to call them back if we need them.
Today, I also received a phone call from a B of A rep from the "Social Media" team. Liz was very nice and supportive. She mentioned that they sometimes monitor these boards and respond to folks to help square away their loans. I'm trying to take all of this as a positive, but I am SO cautious because it could either help things along their way (which I pray is the case), or have an unintended consequence of opening us up to too much scrutiny to nit-pick the modification into non-existence. But... It is a new year, spring is here finally, and things are looking up, so I am determined to take this positively. Liz was very reassuring. Once the mod is final, my health will improve too! LOL This really takes a toll when the process spans an entire year. If all goes well, I will be right back to post my praises of Liz and let you know how it went!! (Again, one thing is for certain, I will be educating my children based on our experience so they will be able to avoid being in this situation in their lifetime. My hope is they make financial stability a priority. Not wealth, per se, just stability.)

OK, another "you failed to do this or that" letter came via FedEx again! We turned all our paperwork in twice, before their made up deadline of April 7th. We consulted them before turning any of it in, but they rejected both attempts. On the third attempt, we went to a Bank of America branch and had all docs notarized. This we did on advice from our loan manager. We told him we were up against the original date deadline, but he said not to worry. Sure enough, a letter arrives saying that our offer expired! Such gall ! I called them back several times and of course, no callback.
I contacted HUD today and sent all of our paperwork and my notes to them for review. They will call me back today or tomorrow after they review it all. HUD actually calls me and checks up on the process but not Bank of America.
I understand there are many many folks waiting, but I would bet there are few approaching the 1 year mark. I just don't get why they will not call me back? I also don't understand why I do what they advise me and reject it anyway?

The worst part, every time I call Bank of America I only go to voicemail, no matter what! I need a better number.....

Edited by emtownsend, 07 May 2012 - 06:05 PM.

[PennyPinching]

Good for you fot not giving up! I agree it's a pain...I still can't believe you have made 11 mod payments! Keep after them and you will be heard!

Yesterday, I received a call from FHA following up. They wanted to know how the process was going at this point. I told them all appeared back on-schedule as we went to our local B of A branch and had them notarize the paperwork to make sure we did it properly. We resubmitted it via overnight mail and are now waiting for, hopefully, good news. They were very nice and just said to call them back if we need them.
Today, I also received a phone call from a B of A rep from the "Social Media" team. Liz was very nice and supportive. She mentioned that they sometimes monitor these boards and respond to folks to help square away their loans. I'm trying to take all of this as a positive, but I am SO cautious because it could either help things along their way (which I pray is the case), or have an unintended consequence of opening us up to too much scrutiny to nit-pick the modification into non-existence. But... It is a new year, spring is here finally, and things are looking up, so I am determined to take this positively. Liz was very reassuring. Once the mod is final, my health will improve too! LOL This really takes a toll when the process spans an entire year. If all goes well, I will be right back to post my praises of Liz and let you know how it went!! (Again, one thing is for certain, I will be educating my children based on our experience so they will be able to avoid being in this situation in their lifetime. My hope is they make financial stability a priority. Not wealth, per se, just stability.)

OK, another "you failed to do this or that" letter came via FedEx again! We turned all our paperwork in twice, before their made up deadline of April 7th. We consulted them before turning any of it in, but they rejected both attempts. On the third attempt, we went to a Bank of America branch and had all docs notarized. This we did on advice from our loan manager. We told him we were up against the original date deadline, but he said not to worry. Sure enough, a letter arrives saying that our offer expired! Such gall ! I called them back several times and of course, no callback.
I contacted HUD today and sent all of our paperwork and my notes to them for review. They will call me back today or tomorrow after they review it all. HUD actually calls me and checks up on the process but not Bank of America.
I understand there are many many folks waiting, but I would bet there are few approaching the 1 year mark. I just don't get why they will not call me back? I also don't understand why I do what they advise me and reject it anyway?

The worst part, every time I call Bank of America I only go to voicemail, no matter what! I need a better number.....

OK, word from B of A today is that we are set to close on the 24th of May... Just three days away! They've been moving on this without letting me know, but that is OK in retrospect, at least in this case. I hope it all goes through!! I'll post when and if we get through all of this. Thanks!

[PennyPinching]

Digging up an old post here because I have to follow up.
The original modification did close on the 24th and our payments resumed as normal. I was able to make online payments again.
Since this was finalized, we went forward with our chapter 7. Bank of America said they will take any amount of payment what-so-ever during the 60 day bk process, so I made one more regular payment via the BK department at B of A.
Next thing you know, we get another FedEx package with modification paperwork! Yes, believe it or not, they said our original modification needed adjusting and they had to adjust our invisible second.
The terms and payment were the same, so it looked legit, and they said our next/first payment was not due until 10/01/2012. They sent out a notary and because we had such trouble before, we signed TWO packets to make sure we did not miss a thing.
A week later came the now obligatory rejection letter from B of A that there was something wrong with our signatures. (Microsoft provides better error codes than B of A!)
Follow-up phone calls went unanswered until low and behold, what appears on our doorstep?? Another modification packet. This one dated MAY 2012 !!
Got a voicemail about three days later that they needed to send a notary to the house and for us to call our loan manager.

I have called almost daily since then and I have never received a callback! I called so many other Bank of America numbers to get anyone who could help and I always end up at my account manager's voicemail (again, who never returns my calls).

At what point can I assume Bank of America is doing this on purpose? I thought this was all settled when the mod was supposedly finished on the 24th of May. As far as I am concerned we are fine, other than the BK waiting period. I truly believe Bank of America is taking advantage of this to attempt and undo what they have done. It is not reasonable for me to really believe that as it would be a tremendous expense for Bank of America, but what other choice do I have?

Can an individual sue for this type of thing???

[PennyPinching]

I called Bank of America's FHA department (1-866-880-1336) and the rep electronically messaged my account manager who promised he would call me within the next hour. Not holding my breath!

[skybluemoon]

Do you have an update on your plight?

I called Bank of America's FHA department (1-866-880-1336) and the rep electronically messaged my account manager who promised he would call me within the next hour. Not holding my breath!

[rmiller0410]

All I can say is good luck BofA did this to us for thrree years. And still no resolution. Finally had it discharged in bankruptcy.

[PennyPinching]

We just signed again on the moded-mod... We'll see.
We too included our mortgage in BK and are NOT reaffirming, but do intend to "stay and pay". We hope to get my wife through her nursing school and employed, and then refi.

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