The Seattle Times-
Unable to qualify for modifications on Bank of America mortgages, a few of California’s most distressed homeowners are being offered one last chance to stay in their homes: Become renters instead.
Testing a mortgage-to-lease program in the Golden State, Bank of America sent 300 letters last week inviting borrowers without other options to apply. An additional 1,500 letters will go out in the next few weeks as the bank, which also is testing the program in Arizona, Nevada and New York, evaluates whether a national rollout is feasible.
Bank of America plans to sell the homes to investors. It typically would recoup far less than what’s owed but would come out far ahead compared with where it would be after evicting borrowers, making “cash for keys” payments to help them move and selling empty and often vandalized foreclosures in the troubled housing market.