BofA Calls Off Foreclosure Of Atlanta Woman's Home As BofA Caves To Pressure From Local Media

In Atlanta, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:

• Channel 2 Action News got results for a southeast Atlanta widow threatened with foreclosure even though her mortgage was nearly paid off. "They do need to call me back really quickly because like I said, Channel 2 is already here," said housing advocate Simone Griffin. She was on the phone with a vice president of Bank of America.

• In a subsequent call, Griffin learned 64-year-old Mary Dixon's home would not be put up for sale March 1 after all. "I pray God make a way, … don't let me lose my home," Dixon said prior to the news that her home wouldn’t be put up for foreclosure.

• Channel 2 Action News consumer investigator Jim Strickland joined counselors from HomeFree-USA, digging through paperwork on Dixon's application for a reverse mortgage. Since the program would help her turn her equity into cash, Dixon said the bank advised not to bother making any more payments. "I didn't hear anything, so I figured I'd better see what's going on with my house," she recalled. Dixon said she found out months later that the house had declined in value and that the deal was off.

• That's when she tried to make the payments the bank had advised her to skip. "I got the money to pay my note up, but they wouldn't let me pay my note up," Dixon said. Instead, foreclosure notices came.

• With fees and penalties, her balance of $13,300 was up to more than $16,000 by December. Weeks later, a second letter from a foreclosure attorney placed the balance at more than $19,000. "To me, they are trying to take away from me, trying to take my house," Dixon said. Strickland found a receipt for the last payment Dixon made, and overheard the bank vice president admit they had no record of it.

• Moments later, the bank official vowed to stop the sale. Dixon's confident it will get straightened out. "I'm not nervous about it because if it's wrong, it's wrong," she said. Messages for the loan officer and bank representatives were not returned.

Source: Foreclosure Halted After Channel 2 Gets Involved.