My apologies for getting off topic by posting about a Loan Modification, but I think this story warrants attention. Note: Though I am well versed in loan servicing, I do not handle loan modifications and only took this client on due to it being referred by a friend. Property is located in CA. I will not mention names out of respect for BofA employees' families and considering they are merely cogs in the system. This story is to highlight how poorly orchestrated their loan modification process is run.

Property: Single family home purchased as 2nd home with 20% down in 2005 for $850,000, which is now borrower's principal residence. Original purchase money loan still in place ($672,000 loan, interest only at 6% for the first 10 years, fully amortizing over the remaining 20). Current market value is approximately $525,000. Loan was packaged into a CWMBS - CHL Securitization with Countrywide as Master Servicer.

Default: Owner stopped making payments in December 2010 and contacted me in November 2011 at which time I sent an Authorization to Receive and Convey information to BofA. Our file was assigned the first account manager in early December 2011. This account manager was not well trained to answer questions and was merely a point of contact to check off boxes and relay documentation requests from BofA's underwriting department. Specific documentation per the account manager's request was submitted as follows (note, documentation was submitted within days of being requested, no documentation was ever requested/submitted twice and each subsequent package was requested due to their need for "additional items")

1st package of documentation submitted 1/4/12

2nd package of documentation submitted 1/11/12

3rd package of documentation submitted 1/23/12

4th package of documentation submitted 4/14/12

5th package of documentation submitted 5/10/12

6th package of documentation submitted 6/1/12

Received Trial Plan Offer - 7/24/12

Due to the first account manager's inability to answer pointed questions, no less than 25 calls were made to the account manager's superior in addition to that superior's superior. Not once, NOT ONCE, did I receive a return call from either "superior". A request for Beneficiary Statement pursuant to CA CC 2943 was sent 1/10/12, which provides that the beneficiary must respond within 21 days with certain documentation as known to the beneficiary. A response was received from an attorney firm in Philadelphia 42 days after the request was received by Bank of America's Simi Valley office, with partial documentation. Remaining items were to be sent under separate cover (which never occurred - no big surprise there).

Late March after minimal progress, I posted an "Escalation Number Request" on SS Superstars and quickly received a call from Bank of America's Social Media Team, which attempts to resolve consumer complaints and limit the amount of negative press being distributed. The file was escalated to the "Office of the CEO" and I was given a new contact. For the next 4 months, the new contact continued to process the homeowner's income/expense information and finally provided a "Trial Plan" that would have raised the borrower's original $3,360/month payment (interest only) to $5,648/month (escrowed). It took Bank of America 6 months to tell the homeowner "go pound sand" at which time the servicer is paying property taxes, the homeowner is living rent free and all parties involved could have obtained a quicker determination with lesser time commitment.

A couple thoughts from this experience: In a private business, people would be fired for taking 6 months to review a file. Specific requests were submitted to the servicer for approval/denial from the investor, which went nowhere. How much more money in servicing fees will Bank of America receive at the expense of Certificate-holders for dragging this file along? How much training does the average CRM or underwriter receive? Is there not a better way to process loan modification requests?

Any thoughts, experiences or ideas on this topic encouraged. I expect to see lawsuits for years to come against loan servicers. At the same time, I am hopeful the majors improve their processes accordingly.