Bank of America - How to Deal/Questions

[marty56]

Usually I am not a fan of rolling CC debt into a mortgage but to be free of BofA, I might be tempted to do it.  if you do so use the card once every few months or better yet if you are doing monthly credit monitoring, use it to pay for it each month and PIF each time you use it.

[Anonymous]

Hello Circe221:

Perhaps my advice will seem radical but I think in the long run you may find it beneficial.

If you live in an area where BOA has Branches, I would go into the nearest one and ask to speak to the Branch Manager. I would explain the situation to them exactly as it is and I think you will find they have the ability to help you far more then someone at the end of a phone line.

There seems to be a growing trend, that it is best to NOT HAVE human contact and perish forbid if any business makes a decision contrary to what a customer wants.

I noticed you mentioned that you are beginning to think that BOA is scum. Bear in mind, the same people calling them that were falling all over them to get their credit products at one time.

I've had a BOA Credit Card since the mid 1970's and I have never had an issue with them. Something tells me I am not the only person who can make that statement.

CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your schooling. !!! I certainly wish that all works out for you. Never forget the personal touch, especially in this time and age of instant gratification.

[GregB]

Without complete info such as income and amount required to refinance this is a bit general, but:

1. In order to refinance you will need to prove that the new payment is a certain percentage of income. Let's say they will require that your payment be no more than 30% of your income after taxes. If you are struggling to make the house payment and minimums on the BofA CC, that seems very unlikely.

2. They will want history on that income. If you have been in graduate school, it is unlikely that you will have a job that has been stable for the required length of time. Even if they only want your current job to be stable for 12 months, do you have that history.

3. You will need FICO scores that meet their requirements. With that utilization on the one CC and the lates, I think that is unlikely, probably almost impossible.

4. I think you will find they require NO lates in the last year.

Normal in a divorce, where one person keeps the house, is for the loan to stay as-is. Both people stay on the loan, but the person keeping it makes the payments. This does vary by state and court order.

It is probably best if you plan on making the payments on the house with your income and doing your best with BofA. That may mean payment arrangements, BK, destroying your credit to keep the house, etc. Best solution is a short term loan from someone or sell something to get caught up. You should think about how important it is to keep the house as it is likely to be difficult.

I've been there and understand it is not easy. I decided to keep the house because it is the only home my young son has known and I wasn't going to let his irresponsible mother destroy everything in his life. The damage was huge.

[marty56]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I noticed you mentioned that you are beginning to think that BOA is scum. Bear in mind, the same people calling them that were falling all over them to get their credit products at one time.

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Perhaps but in my case they went out of there way to trash my credit.

I was a a DMP program and made the mistake of applying for a Sams card.  They droped me from the program and raised my minimum payment without contacting me or the DMP company.  Finally after about 10 months they sent a letter to me but by then the account was 120 days late for several months.

Once they contacted me the DMP company got them to but me back in the program and I continued to pay them on time until the  balance was PIF.

Yeah, it was my fault and I have to live with it for another 3 years.  They did it on purpose though.

I will think about your idea and go into a BofA branch and speak with someone about some GW.

[Anonymous]

All I can say is I have a bank account with them as well and they just took there payment out of my checking account.  When I disputed it they gave me my money back but then charged me NSF (non sufficient funds) because I paid other bills thinking I had money in my account. 

I had to write a letter to the Attorney General's office.   I got all my money back and now I am leaving and going to a new bank.

[Anonymous]

I think it's very risky to talk to BofA right now.  The personal touch is not what you want when you aren't polished and shiny - they seem very willing to come up with some lovely AA's for anything less than optimum.  For those with accounts in pristine condition - the personal touch may (or may not) work right now.  They're like a mother cub - a bit on the ferocious side - keep your distance.

There's other solutions.  Find a way to pay BofA.  Get your mortgage straightened out.  Don't ask B of A for favors right now - they're likely to chew something off.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello Circe221:

Perhaps my advice will seem radical but I think in the long run you may find it beneficial.

If you live in an area where BOA has Branches, I would go into the nearest one and ask to speak to the Branch Manager. I would explain the situation to them exactly as it is and I think you will find they have the ability to help you far more then someone at the end of a phone line.

There seems to be a growing trend, that it is best to NOT HAVE human contact and perish forbid if any business makes a decision contrary to what a customer wants.

I noticed you mentioned that you are beginning to think that BOA is scum. Bear in mind, the same people calling them that were falling all over them to get their credit products at one time.

I've had a BOA Credit Card since the mid 1970's and I have never had an issue with them. Something tells me I am not the only person who can make that statement.

CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your schooling. !!! I certainly wish that all works out for you. Never forget the personal touch, especially in this time and age of instant gratification.

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Thank you so much DickC!

Yes, getting my Masters was a long hard road, but it is well worth it. I am now working in the field that I want to be in, doing a job that I love!

It is good to hear good things about BOA. What upset me was that they lowered my Credit Limit when I was having trouble, then hit me with over the credit limit fees, which made it worse.

I guess I felt like they were hitting me when I was down, which of course, is partially my fault since I got myself into this mess in the first place.

But I am hoping by the end of this month to be current on the BOA card, and to be able to start making minimum payments + on time starting next month.

Maybe I will wait until I have a few months history of paying on time and then take your suggestion and actually go to a branch.

Thank you again for the response!

[Anonymous]

THANK YOU GregB for your response! To answer your questions:

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GregB wrote:

Without complete info such as income and amount required to refinance this is a bit general, but:

1. In order to refinance you will need to prove that the new payment is a certain percentage of income. Let's say they will require that your payment be no more than 30% of your income after taxes. If you are struggling to make the house payment and minimums on the BofA CC, that seems very unlikely. 

My mortgage payment is roughly 40%, give or take 5%, of my take home pay.

2. They will want history on that income. If you have been in graduate school, it is unlikely that you will have a job that has been stable for the required length of time. Even if they only want your current job to be stable for 12 months, do you have that history.

I have been at my current job for 10 years - I went to graduate school at night part time, which is why it took me 5 years to get my masters lol, but I do have that history of income, so that is a +

3. You will need FICO scores that meet their requirements. With that utilization on the one CC and the lates, I think that is unlikely, probably almost impossible.

My current TU FICO is 593, which is not good. I need to try to get this up as soon as possible...

4. I think you will find they require NO lates in the last year.

Yeah....this is a problem because I have had several from BofA. I am going to be current this month, and will hopefully be so from now on. I am looking into getting a part time job and putting all of that $$$ towards the BofA card to try and expedite paying that down.

Normal in a divorce, where one person keeps the house, is for the loan to stay as-is. Both people stay on the loan, but the person keeping it makes the payments. This does vary by state and court order.

It is probably best if you plan on making the payments on the house with your income and doing your best with BofA. That may mean payment arrangements, BK, destroying your credit to keep the house, etc. Best solution is a short term loan from someone or sell something to get caught up. You should think about how important it is to keep the house as it is likely to be difficult.

I've been there and understand it is not easy. I decided to keep the house because it is the only home my young son has known and I wasn't going to let his irresponsible mother destroy everything in his life. The damage was huge.

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Thank you again for taking the time to respond. You have given me a lot to think about and consider, and hopefully I will be able to get myself in a better place 6 months - 1 year from now where the refi will be more of a possibility.