Unbelievable...truly.

Quote:

Pasco couple fear losing home to foreclosure for paying mortgage too early

NEW PORT RICHEY — Seventy-year-old Sharon Bullington may lose her home because she paid her mortgage a week early.

That may not make much sense to the thousands of homeowners who are behind on their mortgages in Florida. But it seems it does to Bank of America, which has filed to foreclose on Bullington and her husband, James, 78, who is terminally ill.

"It's like death to me," Sharon Bullington said, her voice quivering on the phone Friday. "My husband is bedridden. It's almost more than I can bear."

The couple moved to Florida 15 years ago after James Bullington retired from General Motors in Flint, Mich., and moved into the 1,591-square-foot New Port Richey home, which is now valued at $133,464, though they owe about $177,000.

When James became ill, the couple encountered financial difficulties because of high medical bills. The couple asked Bank of America to modify the loan.

There was a catch. The couple would have to first officially default on their $1,400-a-month payment. The couple did that and entered into the modification plan, which reduced their payment to $916.

Sharon Bullington made the January payment on Dec. 23, and the bank accepted the money, according to court records.

The next month, she made the February payment over the phone. Weeks later, the money had not been withdrawn from her bank account. After Bullington asked the bank about it, a representative told her she had punched in the wrong routing number. In March, the bank kicked the couple out of the modification plan.

Bullington pleaded for help in a June letter to Bank of America president Brian Moynihan and U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor.

One of Moynihan's aides, Ana Olivera, told Bullington the foreclosure could not be stopped. She wrote in a two-page letter that the payment due on Jan. 1, 2011, had been made in December.

"In accordance with the Trial Payment Letter dated December 15, 2010, it indicates that if you are not able to make each payment in the month in which it is due, you will not be eligible for a modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program," the letter said.

Olivera told Bullington she could avoid a foreclosure by selling the home in a short sale or by signing it over to the bank. The letter said the bank values Bullington's business and strives to provide exceptional customer service.

"I understand that you may be disappointed with our final resolution and appreciate the opportunity to clarify this matter," Olivera wrote. "While this may not be the response you were hoping for, I trust I have addressed your concerns."

Olivera, a California-based employee, declined to comment about the case when reached by the Times on Friday. Bank of America replied in an e-mail: "We are going to re-review the Bullington's case."

The Bullingtons' lawyer, Shawn Yesner, said the case makes no sense because his clients did what the bank told them to do. In 10 years as a lawyer, he said, he has never seen such an outrageous letter.

"I couldn't believe they would put that in writing," he said. "I had to read the letter three or four times. … Bank of America is putting her in a depressed state. She has never been behind on anything."

As thousands of property owners across Florida and the nation battle foreclosure, defense attorneys have accused lenders of bogging down the courts with an unwillingness to negotiate with people on their mortgages, often by simply refusing to make decisions.

Earlier this month, a 41-year-old man faced foreclosure after missing a mortgage payment on a St. Petersburg gas station by just one day. He made several attempts to continue paying and made a $50,000 payment in court earlier this month to settle the case, but the bank refused the payment. The day the Times published an article detailing the saga, BB&T suspended the foreclosure action and worked to settle the case.

Sharon Bullington, who has no children or siblings, said she is the sole caregiver for her ill husband, who cannot move from the home in his condition. She said she has repeatedly contacted the bank, but nobody will talk to her.

She wants Moynihan and Bank of America to know this:

"I want them to feel how we feel," she said. "I just don't understand why they're doing this. It looks like they're out to get us."

Times researcher Shirl Kennedy and staff writer Molly Moorhead contributed to this report. Mark Puente can be reached at mpuente@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8459. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/markpuente.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/re....

There are a lot of good people working for Bank of America. They should all quit. Just quit. Give themselves a month or so to find new jobs and get away from BAC. People like Brian Moynihan depend on BAC's employees to show up to work everyday and keep things humming along. It is time to quit being cogs in the grinder and go work for an honorable organization. The BAC job is likely to end anyway. It certainly appears BAC is being wound down with little fanfare. Pull out the strength and dependability and watch BAC fall and hopefully not land on anyone of good will.

Adios BAC.

they still have clients with deposits????? (now you know part of the problem...j6p just won't take action)
J

Interesting. This is a little surprising since they have been delaying these neg equity foreclosure as long as possible.

I truly hope BAC dies a horrible death.

Anyone who banks or works for them - should not be surprised when TSHTF senario or worse happens. This is called Karma

This bank is looking like it is going to be another Atlantis of banking- as the weight of Countrywide sinks them along with this kind of customer treatment as people realize the monster they are dealing with and jump ship to avoid being there at the end when FDIC takes over.

Welcome to the club. Been fighting them for nearly three years for almost the same thing. Except when they took my mortgage over I suddenly became 23 months behind. "according to their paper work" from Countrywide. And to this day I have a file 2 inches thick and despite lawyers and my bank statements and all I can't get an accounting from them which is all they will accept.. Not to mention that they put me on a "modified loan" which I paid on for 7 months and then threw me out before they even had all the information they had requested 4 times.

Son's girlfriend has a mortgage through them (BAC). Her payment went from $900 per month to $1,400 per month when the bank decided that she needed flood insurance and put it on the place. This is an old doublewide trailer on an acre of land.

Her employment situation has deteriorated since she's a welder. She can only find temporary, part-time work now. I advised her to find her a real estate lawyer and think about not making payments that she can't afford.

I just don't get it. There is no way that the bank is going to be able to resell that place for even half of the loan value, so why are they pushing her into default? There must be some sort of advantage in it for them.

Force placed insurance is a terrible scam for the most part. There is no honest way flood insurance on an old mobile home could cost an extra $500/mo. She needs to see about purchasing her own flood coverage, get the price, and go from there. It may turn out that the mobile home is not sited in a flood plain anyway. Kickbacks may be involved. Here's a link to an article about forced placed insurance.

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/20....

One would like to think that BAC has crossed yet another criminal line by force placing flood coverage at a bogus price since flood coverage originates with the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program).

Sounds as if this young lady is easy prey since she lives in a mobile home and is not getting full-time work. It's hard to be able to afford a lawyer in such a situation. She may wish to look into joining a class action lawsuit. I don't know who is reputable and who is not, but there are a few on the web.

Here is a link to a "Daily Bail" article with links to some articles from "American Banker". Hit those links. Someone at American Banker wrote an outstanding article on forced placed insurance that is fairly long and involved but is worth the read.

http://dailybail.com/home/bofa-leak-expo....

Keep us posted on what transpires with her situation. Obviously, she is not alone.

maybe she should call the local tv station most have a consumer rip off person that might get into it for her...

Thanks for the links. It seems strange that, after five years, suddenly additional insurance was needed.

*Totally NOT defending BAC*

but did she get kicked out for paying EARLY or because they had her on record as NOT PAYING?

Quote:

After Bullington asked the bank about it, a representative told her she had punched in the wrong routing number.

once they do those buy-down refies they seem to be pretty hard up to foreclose if payment is missed