Bank of America - Short Sale Approval Letter Verification



Bank of America - Short Sale Approval Letter Verification

Bank of America has announced a process for the verification of approval letters by closing attorneys and agents in an effort to identify and prevent the use of fraudulent short sale approval letters. It is reportedly the result of a short sale scam being perpetrated involving properties on which Bank of America is the holder of a note secured by a mortgage or deed of trust. In its letter, Bank of America has indicated that the perpetrators of the scam send approval letters to title companies that appear to be legitimate approval letters from Bank of America and include the bank’s logo, standard formatting and language.

Bank of America will not require written authorization from the borrower for the closing attorney to be able to verify the authenticity of these letters. All that is required is having an approval letter in hand that Bank of America can verify. Written authorization is still required if you are not in possession of the approval letter.

Verification of approval letters can be obtained by calling the Bank of America Customer Care Department at

1-866-880-1232. The Bank of America Customer Care hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern.

Note that all valid approval letters will include the following disclosure:

“Bank of America appreciates all of your efforts and cooperation in this matter. If you have any further questions, please contact our Short Sale Customer Care Department at 1-866-880-1232”.

Approval letters that do not include this language are presumed to be invalid.

Bank of America will verify the following information from the approval letter

(As noted above be sure that you have the approval letter in hand during the verification process):

1. Loan number.

2. Property address.

3. Closing deadline date.

4. Original borrower’s name.

5. Approved buyer’s name.

6. Short Sale sales price amount.

7. Net proceeds amount to Bank of America.

8. Note: Bank of America has agreed to add the payoff amount approved for junior lienholders, but it is not known when this information will be available. It is therefore suggested that you attempt to verify junior lienholder payoff amounts each time you contact Bank of America.

If the Bank of America Customer Care Associate can verify the legitimacy of the letter they will provide you with the following response upon completion of the verification process:

“Thank you, the information you provided is valid and accurate. We appreciate your partnership in this effort. Thank you for calling Bank of America.”

If the Bank of America Customer Care Associate cannot verify the legitimacy of the letter they will provide you with the following response upon completion of the verification process:

“Thank you for your responses. Based on the information you provided, I am not able to validate the approval letter you received. This incident will be escalated for further review. Close of escrow is not approved for this property. A representative from Bank of America will be contacting you with further information within 24 hours. We appreciate your partnership in this effort. Thank you for calling Bank of America.”

Because the verification from B of A is verbal all files should be documented with the date, time and outcome of the call.

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