CHARLESTON -- A Bancroft couple is suing Bank of America after they claim it participated in predatory lending practices.
BAC Home Loans Servicing was also named as a defendant in the suit.
Brenda Fore has a mental disability and George Fore also has a major disability arising from a traumatic brain injury, according to a complaint filed April 8 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
The Fores claim they live on a fixed income and their daughter and her three children live in the mobile home on the same property as their home.
In 1980, the Fores purchased their home for $42,000 with a $39,000 loan from Farmer's Federal Savings and Loan Association, according to the suit.
The Fores claim in March 2005, they paid off the loan and entered into another loan. They claim in 2006 they approached the defendants regarding refinancing in order to loaner their interest rate.
The appraiser provided an appraisal suggesting the market value of the Fores' home was at or above $88,350, which was false, according to the suit.
The Fores claim the defendants then told them that the home was appraised at $90,000, when it reality it was appraised at $61,000.
In 2010, the Fores began to have difficulty paying on the loan and contacted the defendants about a loan modification, according to the suit, and were instructed not to pay on the loan while the loan modification was under review.
On Sept. 9, 2010, the Fores claim they were informed their home was in foreclosure, even though their loan modification was still under review.
The Fores claim the defendants damaged them by the wrongful foreclosure sale of their home.
The loans issued by the defendants were unconscionable, according to the suit.
The Fores are seeking actual and punitive damages. They are being represented by Daniel F. Hedges and Jacklyn A. Gonzales.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 11-C-580
Bancroft couple sues Bank of America for predatory lending
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY
