In an effort to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure, Bank of America has announced it will open 28 new number of homeowner assistance centers in 2011, tripling the number currently operating[1]. This will bring the number to 40 in 22 states. The centers will be located in “places hardest hit by the recession and lingering mortgage troubles.” The bank is likely hoping to ameliorate public relations damage sustained as it continues to struggle with mortgage losses and lawsuits inherited from its 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. in addition to helping out homeowners. Counselors at BofA’s mortgage centers have “met with more than 17,000 homeowners” since the first one opened in 2009.

Rebecca Mairone, a national mortgage outreach executive for BofA, describes the role of counselors at the assistance centers one in which they “counsel customers, follow each customer file through the entire loan-modification process, make on-site decisions in many cases and assist with other foreclosure prevention solutions if a modification is not possible”[2].

Do you have faith in BofA to help its homeowners, or are they too far gone for you at this point?

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[1] http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/05/2274064/bofa-to-triple-number-of-mortgage.html

[2] http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2011/05/05/bank-of-america-wells-fargo-foreclosures.html