The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and five of its member organizations have filed a federal housing discrimination complaint against the Bank of America Corporation, Bank of America, N.A., and BAC Home Loan Servicing, LP, for alleged discrimination in the marketing and maintenance of foreclosed homes.
The complained was filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after it was revealed that the bank maintains foreclosed homes in White neighborhoods in better conditions than in African-American and Latino neighborhoods, a press release stated.
An investigation was carried out by the NFHA in the metros of Atlanta, GA; Dallas, TX; Dayton, OH; Grand Rapids, MI; Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL; Oakland/Richmond/Concord, CA; Phoenix, AZ, and metropolitan Washington, DC, which showed that a superior treatment was meted out to properties in white neighborhoods.
"Our economy may be recovering in some communities, but this is a Tale of Two Recoveries," Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of the NFHA, said in a statement. "Our investigation shows that Bank of America continues to disregard its REO homes in communities of color. And they have no excuse. Bank of America has been on notice of its failure to maintain REOs since the summer of 2009 yet has made no improvement in addressing racial disparities in the maintenance and marketing of its bank-owned homes."
The agencies noted several deficiencies in these properties such as broken windows, water damage, overgrown lawns, trash and no ‘for sale’ sign among others.
"Without a 'for sale' sign, for example, potential homebuyers and neighbors simply don't know the home is available," said Smith. "Also, if there are unauthorized occupants or storm damage, neighbors have no one to call. With a "for sale" sign, neighbors can call a real estate agent to report these kinds of problems."
Earlier this year, the NFHA released a report showing that damages to colored communities are being triggered by the same banks who gave away unsustainable loans resulting in foreclosure crisis.
The report titled, "The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not: Discrimination in the Maintenance and Marketing of REO Properties" evaluated close to 1,000 properties nationwide to find how they are maintained by banks.
Meanwhile, Bank of America is not the only one filed with discrimination charges. The U.S. Bank and the Deutsche Bank have also been under attack for improper maintenance of properties.
