“Dear Michael,
We were flooded in 2008. Countrywide agreed to an extension during rebuild adding payments to end of loan. They then sent paperwork back with VOID written in sharpie. We were denied any modification, etc. This went on for 4 years. We sent in payments, they sent them back. The house went into foreclosure and a deed of foreclosure was issued in July 2014. A sheriff’s sale was scheduled then cancelled by the BoA (merger with Countrywide). We have called BoA but oply receive voicemail and never get a return call. We have no idea why the sheriff sale was cancelled and if/when it will be rescheduled.
Have they walked away? Should we just move back to the home (we spent $40,000 repairing from flood and still doing updates)? Do they have to start foreclosure proceedings from the beginning? So confused. I have no idea what is going on and am not getting any answers from the mortgage company.
Brande”
There have been fairly well documented instances of banks failing to finalize foreclosures based on cost negative analysis of the property. Your home having been flood damaged fits the part of a banks “lose/lose” approach according to coverage I have read. But much of banks walking away from homeowner walk away was to have been curbed by state and federal regulators, and national settlements.
Many banks, with Bank of America providing the largest of all sums, have settled claims regarding their many mortgage issues. You may be a perfect candidate to receive some other outcome than what you had assumed was the end of the road, the foreclosure and sheriff sale. Regardless, I would suggest the following three steps.
3 steps you can take with your unresolved BofA foreclosure
- We have a debt and credit hotline available to readers. Many of the companies that participate in the hotline are HUD approved housing counselors. Call the hotline, 800-268-2979, and ask to get connected to a housing counselor. You could discover some additional options are available from Bank of America, or at a minimum, have a way to connect with them through the housing counselor.
- Contact your states Attorney General’s office. Briefly outline the stalled completion of the BofA foreclosure, and ask for contact details for the state agency that can best advise you about any pending programs the state itself may have (sometimes this ends up being a loop back to housing counseling).
- File a complaint against Bank of America servicing with the CFPB. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has oversight over unfair and deceptive acts and practices when it comes to banks like BofA. Starting and stopping foreclosures as a matter of financial convenience, if that is what is discovered is occurring here, is a problem. Though I am not saying that has occurred with you. Just that what little you have shared, rhymes with recent past. You can file a mortgage complaint with the CFPB here. – Be sure you are thorough with dates and as many details as possible.
Post an update in the comments below with what you learn.
Anyone with questions or concerns regarding their own foreclosure issues is welcome to post in the comments for feedback.
Michael Bovee founded CRN, a unique company offering debt negotiation education and services, in 2004. Bovee has been contributing articles and free reader feedback on this site for several years.
Michael is a debt industry professional who has volunteered his time to help answer reader questions.
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