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BAC Home Loan Servicing: Changes For Consumers
BAC Home Loan Servicing is a brand new department in the Bank Of America Corporation that will have a significant impact on both lenders and homeowners. Bank Of America Corp. (BAC), the biggest lender in the US, is now dividing about half of its 13.9 million mortgages into a “bad” bank. It will include all of the bank’s riskiest and worst performing loans, such as loans that are 60 or more days delinquent, as well as risky loans that it no longer signs, like interest only, Alt-A, subprime, and option adjustable-rate mortgages. The portfolio will hold 6.7 million loans with a $1 trillion outstanding principal balance. The division will leave behind half of the previous holdings, as well as new lending from here out. Terry Laughlin, who will be running the new unit, reportedly told investors: “We are creating a classic good bank, bad bank structure,” at a New York meeting. Laughlin was promoted into the position to manage dispute resolution costs from BAC’s accquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2008. He will also be taking over management of foreclosure processes and negotiations with investors who are insisting the bank buy back faulty loans. Homeowners are already beginning to see the changes from this split, which was completed March 31st of this year. Notices have been sent to some notifying them that the BAC Home Loan Servicing department now has different contact information for customer assistance. In some cases, loan account numbers have been changed. BAC Home Loan Servicing will handle all loan management questions and online payments. They also provide homeowner resources, including ways to protect investments , help with financial difficulties, and educational courses. BAC’s Home Loan Help page is also very helpful for customers who may be having home loan difficulties. By choosing from a few different answers, borrowers are quickly matched with appropriate solutions for their situations. In addition, a recent BAC Home Loan Servicing press release announced that it would be tripling its number of customer assistance centers across the country in areas hardest hit by the economic downturn. Teams at the centers are made up of experienced loan professionals, trained to provide customer counseling, follow individual files through the entire loan modification process, make on-site decisions in some cases, and discuss other solutions for foreclosure prevention in the event a modification is not feasible. BAC Home Loan Servicing is now also the service provider for listing and selling VA-acquired property. The Department of Veterans Affairs acquires properties that are foreclosures on VA-guaranteed and VA-financed loans. These properties are then marketed for sale through a property management services contract that was awarded to BAC Home Loan Servicing, LP. |
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hansir_135_739 September 9, 2011 at 12:42am PDT
LOS ANGELES (CN) - A trustee for 42 homeowner trusts accuses Bank of America of "playing a shell game" to prevent liability for Countrywide Financial's part within the housing meltdown. The trustee claims that whenever <b><a href="http://www.allofhomefinance.com/american-bank-loan-modification-plan/">American Bank Loan Modification Plan</a></b> acquired Countrywide Financial Corp. at the begining of 2008 it setup a "byzantine corporate structure" inside a continuing make an effort to avoid state and federal regulators.
sertor_555 August 1, 2011 at 4:36pm PDT
this is interesting. also, a lot of Countrywide mortgages are being shipped out to other servicers, I saw in the news.
melissagrades July 6, 2011 at 2:21pm PDT
Thank you SO MUCH for this article. I also have a fixed 30-year mortgage with B of A (for almost 10 years) and no mods, with a perfect payment history (always paid at least 10 days in advance). I had not been notified that my mortgage has been changed, but I recieved a "Debt Validation Notice" recently from BAC Home Loan Servicing. It states the value of your loan and says you have 30 days to dispute the validity of the debt and is worded as though you are expected to pay it off now. I was worried at first, but I'll be calling B of A and BAC tomorrow, and thanks to you, I know more of what's going on.