Bank of America forecloses on an inexistent home

Category: Harris County, Residential No Comment November 14, 2011

Brad Gana’s home was destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008, while he was overseas. However, Gana did not stop his mortgage payments. But problems appeared two days before he planned to sell the property. Although he was current on his mortgage, he has learned that Bank of America, his lender is foreclosing on his property.

How could this happen? Well, the records show, that wile Gana was making his regular payments, the lender had incorrectly placed a homeowner’s policy on the non-existent property and additionally increased his monthly payments.

According to Bank of America’s version, they notified their client, Gana, about the new insurance policy and changed mortgage, but Gana underscored that he did not receive any information regarding those changes. If Bank of America did sent an informational letter to his mailbox they must note that Gana’s mailbox was destroyed by the hurricane. Another important aspect: Gana provided Bank of America a different email address and two phone numbers where he could be contacted.

After facing the new circumstances, Gana tried to contact the bank to clarify the situation. He said “It wasn’t until about 20 calls that someone said, ‘We had a homeowner’s policy on your home that you reside in, and your monthly payments have gone up.’ But they never notified me that my monthly payments had gone up.”

In the end Gana’s foreclosure attorney managed to stop the proceedings, after he learned of the foreclosure, but the bank still showed up to remove Gana’s personal items.

A Bank of America representative said “There were a number of factors that contributed to the issues that resulted in the actions that we took on [this homeowner's] mortgage and property. We continue to research the incidents. We have contacted [the homeowner] and we will work with him directly to address his concerns.”