Mistaken Foreclosures - When Will Bank of America Learn?
Several years ago, Bank of America had a reputation in the lending world of being very conservative and not willing to go out on a limb for many loans. With Countrywide doing all there shady antics and many other banks following suit they really didn't need too. If they just sat back and waited it out those banks would implode and Bank of America would look like the best bank in the world.
Like I said....that was several years ago!
Now, all you ever hear is what a nightmare Bank of America is to work with and how they are now doing all the unethical antics that were previously done by Countrywide. My personal opinion is that when B of A decided to buyout Countrywide I don't think they really took a good look at some of the employees they acquired. Everyday there is now a story about how some of their employees are being busted for fraud.
The irresponsible foreclosure practices of banks have been in the headlines. Employees of both GMAC and JPMorgan Chase have admitted to signing off on foreclosure documents without actually having read them. The reports have led to renewed questions about the banks' foreclosure practices. But as usual, the no holds barred winner in the irresponsible bank tricks department is BofA.
Bank of America has outdone itself yet again.....
The bank recently foreclosed on a Florida property that doesn't even have a mortgage, the Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale reported. The foreclosure was started in 2008 by Countrywide, the notorious subprime mill the bank acquired in a fire sale that year. It continued with the proceedings even after the current owner, Jason Grodensky, paid cash for the house last December.
In another 2009 case, the bank went a step further. Not satisfied simply to lock out a Pittsburgh-area homeowner, Angela Iannelli, who was current on her payments, the bank decided to shut off the utilities and take her pet parrot. She is suing the bank, which apologized for the "stress" its errors caused, though surely BofA was privately pleased with itself for at least having targeted someone with an actual mortgage
So I guess I just do not understand how you can foreclose on a property without being given any notice? In most states you have to go through the proceedings first before you can take it back. In Colorado, you have at least 120 days before the bank can take the house so what the heck is B of A doing! How do you make such a mistake as to take a persons home that is paid off? They have computers...do they not check them????
It seems most of the banks have learned nothing from all of this and I would say that once Bank of America bought Countrywide, they essentially just continued in the same role instead of trying to pursue a better reputation than Countrywide had. It's a shame that there are not more banks that can get it together and work with the customers instead of making such HUGE mistakes as these.
I suppose they will learn when the real estate market picks up again and the consumer decides NOT to work with companies who have such bad reputations!
Comments(2)