Sources: RealtyTrac, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Lender Processing Services, U.S. Census STEVEN RICH and DARLA CAMERON/THE WASHINGTON POST  “We did not have the money at all,” Kofi said. “We knew there was no way we could pay $5,000 a month.”  With the credit markets melting down, the Boatengs could not refinance or borrow any more money. More than 2.4 million people were denied refinancing loans in 2008, according to a Post analysis. When the Boatengs thought about selling the Germantown home, they learned it was probably worth $30,000 less than what they owed on it. They said they also had some medical bills that added more than $4,000 in costs.  When the couple sought mortgage relief from Countrywide in April 2008, they said they were told that because they had not missed a payment they could not show a hardship. Countrywide was absorbed by Bank of America in July 2008.  The Boatengs made their last Fairwood mortgage payment on Sept. 18, 2008.  They applied for a loan modification through Bank of America. The bank said it made “seven attempts to help and modify the mortgage for the Boatengs” between 2008 and 2012, offering them a fixed-rate mortgage that would increase the amount they owed per month to about $4,900 but stabilize their payments, bank spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens said.  The Boatengs said it was too high.  “At that time, we were paying close to $4,000 and were struggling,” Comfort said. “And that was too much for us to pay. Anything (about) $3,000 would have been manageable for us at the time.”  At the time, the Boatengs were also getting help from the Massachusetts-based Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a nonprofit counseling agency that worked as an intermediary between the bank and the Boatengs. But NACA learned the Boatengs owned more than one property, which under NACA’s guidelines prohibited the nonprofit from working on the family’s behalf to modify their mortgage.  The Boatengs received their first notice of Bank of America’s intent to foreclose on their home on May 31, 2010. The mortgage was 606 days past due.  “For me as a man, you feel like you’re failing everybody in your life,” Kofi said. “Your children, they come around and think, ‘Oh, our dad is successful.’ And you don’t feel successful at all. You feel, I’m working hard and I want us to succeed, and I want the kids to know that when you work hard you succeed. But it doesn’t look like it.”  As part of the financial rescue, Congress in 2009 created the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which provided relief for beleaguered homeowners by allowing them to modify the terms of their loans. Working through a church member who owned a law firm, the Boatengs asked Bank of America for a HAMP modification.  On April 28, 2011, they were told they were not eligible. The bank said the amount of relief the Boatengs needed to achieve an “affordable payment” exceeded the limits allowed by HAMP.  Their monthly loan payments were to go up again in November 2011, rising to about $6,000. On Aug. 16, 2011, the bank warned in a letter: “This could be a significant increase and result in a condition referred to as payment shock.”  Two weeks later, on Aug. 31, 2011, Bank of America sent an unsolicited “short sale agreement” to the Boatengs, which would require the couple to sell their home. The bank offered them $3,000 to assist with moving expenses and told them they had to agree to sell by Christmas Day.  The bank valued the house at $378,216.  Comfort and Kofi sent a letter to the bank on Dec. 16, 2011, pleading for assistance.  “We trust in your organization to work on our behalf in getting this mortgage issue settled so we can avoid foreclosure and start making an affordable payment,” the Boatengs wrote.  Comfort asked church members for help. One gave them $2,000.  The couple said someone — they do not remember who — referred them to the Brooklyn-based Litvin Law Firm, which specializes in foreclosure defense. The Boatengs said they started paying Litvin $750 monthly. This continued for two years, for a total of $15,000, they said. But then they got a call from an ex-Litvin employee who said the Boatengs should stop paying because the firm was not licensed to conduct business in Maryland.  “After Litvin, we realized we don’t have anybody,” Comfort said.  On Nov. 18, the Litvin Law Firm settled a complaint with the Maryland attorney general’s office that it had charged hundreds of consumers large fees but often did not help them avoid foreclosure or modify their loans.  Litvin can continue to operate in Maryland but under more strict procedures. The company is in negotiations with the state to determine repayment for consumers, said Assistant Attorney General Lucy Cardwell. The Boatengs may be eligible for part of that relief, Cardwell said.  Litvin officials did not return calls for comment.
A Prince George’s family struggles under nearly $1 million in debt that they will never be able to repay on the 3,292-square-foot home they bought for $617,055 in 2005.