I had no idea that Bank of America was this bad

By
Real Estate Agent

Three months ago, if a buyer made an offer on our listing and was getting their loan from BOA 3 months ago, I would have thought nothing of it. Today, I would think that buyer is worthless. In my experience BOA can't close buyer loans. They made lots of promises and then didn't follow thru. However, let me give you some other agents stories before I tell you mine.

BOA Horror Story #1: "I wrote a new home purchase contract with B of A as the lender. The buyer was putting down $140,000 on a $185,000 purchase price. Yes – it was a very small amount of money he was getting a loan for but B of A approved it and we were all set to close 4 ½ months later. The buyer flew out the week before to do the walk-through and get the money from his bank. The HUD-1 was emailed to me on Friday and I called the B of A loan officer to confirm our closing on the following Monday at 11:00 A.M. We were good to go – so I thought.

At 9:00 I got a call from the loan office saying B of A decided not to do the loan. I asked why it was denied 2 hours before closing (signing)? He said it was not denied, B of A had changed threir mind and decided not to do the loan. Lance Mohr"

As you can see, Bank of America cannot close home loans. Please forward this e-mail to every single agent you know. Put it on your blog. Share it thru Activerain. We must get the word out so more agents don't lose deals over BOA's incompetence. I am also forwarding a copy to Matthew Vernon.

BOA Horror Story #2: I had a Buyer for a foreclosed home. His credentials were perfect for an FHA loan. The Buyer wanted to close asap. All the paperwork was sent to his loan company (BOA). It was suggested by the Sellers agent that BOA might work faster as it was their foreclosed property. I forwarded everything on time. It was difficult to get through to the BOA contracted loan officer by phone .. my emails were never answered.

The closing date drew nearer. I kept calling the contracted loan officer, but did not receive any replies from her..I finally called a manager at BOA who informed me the closing officer was very busy with the Tax Credit. They only had a certain amount of time to present the paperwork. I accepted the explanation but explained that my customer was anxious to close on his property as he and his family were living in a hotel. The Seller's bank had stipulated a final date for Closing or the contract would be withrawn.

Another week went by and I continued to leave messages for the closing officer with no replies. I again called a BOA manager and was told that the contracted loan officer was on vacation and there was nothing that could be done until she returned...!!!

Her vacation return date was one day before the closing date. On the morning of closing date I was forwarded a copy of the Appraisal that had been performed 4 weeks previously WITH stipulation that the glass front door had to be repaired or replaced before closing!! I was not notified of this fact at any time other than the day of closing! The Sellers agent was unaware of the Appraisal report as he received it the same day as I did.

I was finally able to talk with the Loan Officer.. at this point I was ready to scream at her! She sugar coated her actions, however, the door still had to be repaired/replaced!! We were able to find a company to go out immediately to repair the door to satisfy the Appraiser. We got the Appraiser to reappraise the property just an hour before the set time for Closing.

To say I was upset/frustrated for the Buyer is an understatement. I worked miracles to Close the house .. . all because BOA's "Contracted Loan Officer" was too busy and went on vacation. I will never!!! use BOA services again. Georgie Moore."

Ben's BOA Horror Story: Another agent brought a buyer who was buying a short sale. The buyer was using BOA for their loan. I thought it wasn't a problem. Today, we are 2 months past when we got the short sale approval. They have asked for two extensions and won't give us a solid time to close. Although, "It should be any days now."

She said she could close on the 26th of August if the buyer sent her final conditions by the 22nd. He sent it and she still can't close. The processor and loan officer will not answer my e-mails and give me an answer. So we keep on asking for short sale extensions.

My bottom line: We won't negotiate a short sale on behalf of a buyer using BOA financing. We're not doing the work unless the buyer uses a lender that can actually close. I've got bills to pay and can't handle this level of incompetence.

Sellers (and short sale negotiators at BOA) don't accept incompetence from me. They demand that I do my job.

You can get a copy of all the fax numbers for congress and a fax template to send to them here: http://www.shortsaleagentadvocate.com .

Got questions about short sales? Just ask. Ben & Chris Curry

Comments (4)

Anonymous
Josh Leavitt

This is so horrible. Thanks for alerting us to this problem. I have a buyer working with them right now. I will tell her to find another lender.

Sep 10, 2010 04:55 AM
#1
Vickie Nagy
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate - Palm Springs, CA
Vickie Jean the Palm Springs Condo Queen

It's amazing to me that there are horror stories all around with many different banks. I think they need to be more accountable.

Sep 10, 2010 05:02 AM
Joel Weihe
Realty World Alliance - Wichita, KS
Helping you to use your VA home loan benefits

I had a listing that went under contract to a buyer who was selling their house to a BOA buyer.  When that BOA buyer made their offer, we all agreed to extend the closing date an extra 30 days, putting it a total of 75 days out from contract, because we all knew BOA was horribly slow.

2 days before closing, BOA suddenly asks their buyer for 5 years of tax returns. They review.  4 days AFTER our closing date, they decide they're not sure if they're going to do the loan.  We pushed it up the ladder until they sent it back down to the local level again. 

The locals finally decided to do the loan, except that they still have not ordered the Certificate of Eligibility for the VA borrower!  This is a week AFTER our original closing date and they still haven't ordered the VA form!?!? And since it's not the Vet himself but his widow, that could take 2 weeks! 

Eventually, through a lot of talking with the VP by our brokers, the deal finally closed.  But it cost all the principals in the transactions a lot of money.  Our seller was paying daily for not closing his bridge loan on his new home, hundreds of dollars, the buyers of his property had a moving truck loaded in their driveway that they paid for every day. 

It was a nightmare, and I plan to pass on any buyers who come to me with a BOA pre-qual.  And if I have sellers receiving an offer from BOA - well, they'll hear the horror stories themselves so they can decide.  But I won't be recommending them.

Sep 10, 2010 05:09 AM
Brian Rugg
Rugg Realty LLC Sun City Texas 512-818-6700 - Georgetown, TX
Sun City TX Real Estate - Georgetown, TX Real Est

Hello Ben:

B of A was my go to mortgage lender for more than five years. I took then a lot of business until they screwed up the refinancing on my own home and several of my clients.  Have not done a deal with then since and won't.

Sep 10, 2010 05:41 AM