The program will forgive all mortgagerndebt and allow homeowners to remain as tenants in their homes for a period ofrnthree years after surrendering their deed to the bank.  Rents will be set at a level below thernhomeowner’s previous mortgage payment and at or below local market rents.  Homeowners will be relieved of otherrnobligations such as property taxes and homeowner insurance.</p

The bank has already begun outreach torncustomers it has determined are appropriate candidates for the pilot and willrnnot accept applications or volunteers at this time.  Those selected to participate must have loansrnowned by Bank of America and still be residing in the home.  In addition they must meet the followingrncriteria:</p<ul class="unIndentedList"<liHave exhausted modificationrnsolutions or have not responded to alternatives to foreclosure, including shortrnsale and deed-in-lieu.</li<liHave high loan balances in relationrnto their current property value.</li<liFace considerable risk of ultimaternforeclosure.</li<liHave no junior liens.</li<liHave adequate income to make anrnaffordable rent payment.</li</ul

“When homeowners are struggling tornmake payments, owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth and facerncertain foreclosure, one of their greatest anxieties is the transition processrnthey face in moving from their home,” noted Ron Sturzenegger, Legacy AssetrnServicing executive of Bank of America. “This pilot will help determine whetherrnconversion from homeownership to rental is something our customers, therncommunity and investors will support. This program may have the potential tornfurther round out the broad set of solutions we offer our customers in need ofrnassistance.”</p

Bank of America will initiallyrnretain ownership of the properties, assigning their oversight to propertyrnmanagement companies and plans to eventually sell them to investors.  If the pilot program is successful, the bankrnmay expand it to other locations in this format or it could avoid ownership byrnacting to facilitate the direct purchase of properties by investors who wouldrnallow the owners to stay on as tenants. </p

“Our priority is designing arnsolution that helps our customer,” said Sturzenegger. “If this evolves from arnpilot into a more broadly based program, we also see potential benefits fromrnhelping to stabilize housing prices in the surrounding community and curtailrnneighborhood blight by keeping a portion of distressed properties off thernmarket.” </p<p<br /rnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrn

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