Bank of American and Foreclosures’ Alternatives

If a single bank is chosen which caused much hardship and destruction in home values, the credit may solely go to Bank of America. This bank has caused much anguish in homeowners and caused more avoidable foreclosures than any other institution. Despite losing billions of dollars and settling non stop many lawsuits, it still has not learnt much lesson. Now, it has announced that it has begun a pilot program offering some of its mortgage customers who are facing foreclosure a chance to stay in their homes by becoming renters instead of owners. BOA call it “Mortgage to Lease Program”. However, this will be available to fewer than 1,000 BofA customers selected by the bank in test markets in Arizona, Nevada and New York.

– Participants will transfer their home’s title to the bank, which will then forgive the outstanding mortgage debt.
– In exchange, they will be able to lease their home for up to three years at or below the rental market rate.
– The rent will be less than the participants’ current mortgage payments and customers will not have to pay property taxes or homeowners insurance, the bank said.

Among requirements to qualify for the program:
– homeowners must have a BofA loan,
– be behind at least 60 days on payments and
– be “underwater,” owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

The bank based in Charlotte, N.C., said it will at first own the homes, then sell them to investors. It seems like BOA would never learn any lesson and keep on doing same blunders again and again. BOA is forgetting that people take pride in homeownership as they can rent any time, if they liked it, and most of the present owners were former renters anyway.