Bank of America opens outreach center to assist distressed New England homeowners

Bank of America Home Loans has opened a new customer outreach center in Dedham, Mass. to serve customers in the Boston area and surrounding region. Bank of America homeownership retention specialists will be meeting face-to-face with financially troubled mortgage customers who are having difficulty making their monthly payments. Dedicated associates also are available to help customers facing hardship with their auto, credit cards and personal loans. "While we have already assisted 13,000 Massachusetts homeowners with permanent modifications since January 2008, we recognize the need for additional outreach efforts in the area," said Glenda Gabriel, neighborhood lending executive for Bank of America Home Loans. A mobile team of Bank of America Home Loans associates has been working in Massachusetts since May, taking financial information, providing counseling and beginning the mortgage modification process. Moving forward, members of the new outreach center team will also be deployed to other parts of New England. Homeownership retention specialists at the outreach center will meet with homeowners by appointment only in order to maximize the value of each session and assure that each borrower arrives prepared with required documentation, is met promptly and receives the full attention of a Bank of America associate. To determine eligibility for the federal government's Making Home Affordable program or other Bank of America modification or foreclosure avoidance programs, customers will be asked to sign an authorization for the bank to receive each borrower's income tax return and bring specific financial documents to their appointment. For more information, visit www.bankofamerica.com.