Bank of America Announces Home Lending Guidelines

BoA Announces Home Lending Guidelines
in News > Residential Mortgage
By MortgageOrb.com on Wednesday 23 April 2008 

Bank of America (BoA) says it expects to implement new lending guidelines in its consumer mortgage business as soon as is practical after it combines operations with Countrywide Financial Corp.

Following the purchase, the combined mortgage business plans to continue to offer retail customers the following types of first lien mortgages:

  • conforming loans underwritten to standard guidelines of government-sponsored enterprises and the government, including Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs loans and other loans designed for low- and moderate-income borrowers;
  • interest-only fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) that are subject to a 10-year minimum interest-only period, which the company says lessens the possibility of short-term payment shock; and
  • fixed-period ARMs that provide borrowers low initial rates with the security of fixed payments, subject to protections against steep increases in payment amounts.

BoA adds that will discontinue non-traditional mortgages where monthly payments may not cover all interest (option ARMs); significantly curtail other non-traditional mortgages, such as certain low-documentation loans; and implement enhanced borrower protections soon after completion of the Countrywide purchase, including limits on prepayment penalties and protections on non-traditional loans such as interest-only and hybrid ARMs.

Additionally, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and Countrywide plan to provide $35 million in grants and low-cost loans to both help local and national nonprofit organizations engaged in foreclosure prevention, and to purchase vacant single-family homes for neighborhood stabilization. The goal, through 2009, incorporates foreclosure prevention efforts by both financial institutions.
 

2 Comments on Bank of America Announces Home Lending Guidelines

Roy:

I would like to know more about the low-cost loans and grants. How would I go about find out this info.

04/24/2008 09:33 AM by Lorraine and Loretta Kratz (Crescent Moon Realty, Inc. & Land N Sea Auctions.)

Lorraine,

For current information on Bank of America products, contact your favorite loan office at Bank of America.  If you do not have one, contact Michael Ahearn, michael.ahearn@bankofamerica.com

04/24/2008 09:52 AM by Roy Kelley (RE/MAX Realty Group)

Leave a response…

Name:
Notify me of new comments:
Comment:
What does the graphic say?
 
Real Estate Agent: Roy Kelley (RE/MAX Realty Group)
Roy Kelley
Gaithersburg, MD
More about me…
RE/MAX Realty Group

Office Phone: (301) 921-4569
Email Me
Comments from an associate broker with over 40 years of experience in the residential real estate field. REO and foreclosures expert in Maryland.

Links

Tags (Tag Cloud)

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog
ATOM 1.0 Feed for this blog

Find MD real estate agents and Gaithersburg real estate here on ActiveRain.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
© 2007 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved