CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bank of America today announced that a new “no-fee” mortgage will become available nationwide starting tomorrow.
The new “No Fee Mortgage Plus” – available since September in Washington state, and since February in another eight states – “simplifies the home purchasing experience,” the company said, by eliminating fees for appraisal, title, loan-origination and other fees that add $3,350 in closing costs to the average $200,000 home loan.
The program also eliminates the requirement for private mortgage insurance. Many lenders require PMI for any purchase with a down payment of less than 20 percent.
And it includes a “best-value guarantee” under which the bank will pay $250 to borrowers who qualify for a Bank of America mortgage but choose to sign with another lender.
The program is made possible by “our size and scale,” Liam McGee, Bank of America’s president of Global Consumer and Small Business Banking, said in a statement. A minimum down payment of 5 percent is required, and the loans are not available to “sub-prime” customers.
No other major bank appears to offer a similar program, the National Association of Realtors said in a newsletter today.
The loans are available through Bank of America offices nationwide and via bankofamerica.com, where a new multimedia presentation featuring a virtual mortgage specialist guides visitors through mortgage articles, interactive checklists, custom calculators and other features.
Additional information is available at www.bankofamerica.com/nofeemortgageplus.
