Call Kurtis: Modification Mistake Causes Mortgage to Go Up
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- The event was meant to help lower people's house payments. So why did theirs shoot up?
Corinne Resus and her husband, Hector, say their house payment shot up more than $500 a month after NACA's (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America) Save the Dream Tour.
"Oh I cried, I cried because I was so frustrated," says Corinne.
They were just one of thousands of homeowners across the country, who camped out for days trying to get a loan modification, lowering their house payment. But after three days outside Cal Expo in October, they were told they didn't qualify for a loan modification.
"They declined it right there and then," says Corinne.
But the next month came another surprise. The parents of a newborn and 16-month old say their house payment shot up more than $500 to more than $2,000 a month.
"I said why? What's going on?" asked Corinne.
Turns out, during the Save the Dream event, someone set up an impound account... a required savings account raising their house payment each month to cover property taxes and insurance... something Corinne and Hector normally paid on their own.
"We save up for it during the year... whatever extra income we have... we set aside money for it," says Corinne.
When she called to get the impound account removed, Bank of America told her to deal with NACA. NACA said deal with Bank of America.
"It's time to call Kurtis, it's time to call Kurtis because I was stuck," says Corinne.
NACA also sent us to Bank of America, which admitted, they added that impound account. Quote: "During the modification review, it's common that a servicer adds an impound account to help homeowners budget the housing payments."
But the couple says they never approved it.
Bank of America says: "We are not sure what exactly transpired but we do apologize for their experience."
And the bank agreed to drop the impound account. The couple's house payment dropping back to something they can afford.
"Relief! We are really relieved and I'm happy," says Corinne.
As Corinne and Hector found out, removing an impound account is tough. Unless you have a certain amount of equity in your home and good credit, it's unlikely your lender will waive this escrow requirement.
Bank of America Statement
During the modification review, it's common that a servicer adds an impound account to help homeowners budget the housing payments. We have now removed the impound account. We apologize for the inconvenience that that this caused them.
We are not sure what exactly transpired but we do apologize for their experience. Bank of America was ultimately responsible for adding the escrow account on to their mortgage.
