N.C. Homeowners Wonder How Banks Could Disappear Charlotte’s NASCAR Debt While Taking Their Houses

(MEBiery)

The magical disappearance of debt sounds like a wonderful thing, doesn’t it? Unless of course, someone else is getting their debt canceled while you’re still stuck in the mud. When homeowners in foreclosure in Charlotte, N.C. heard that the city wouldn’t have to pay back millions of debt it owed Bank of America and Wells Fargo for a underperforming NASCAR Hall of Fame, they couldn’t help but ask why they’re still facing the loss of their homes.

WBTV.com lays out the tentative deal situation between BofA and Wells Fargo on the one side, and Charlotte’s $17.6 million debt it owes for the NASCAR attraction that hasn’t made enough money to pay a dime on a $19.1 million loan in the years since it opened in May 2010.

The proposal currently on the table would have the city pay the banks $5 million from Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority funds, and that’s it. The banks will go ahead and erase the $3.5 million in accumulated interest and the $14.1 million in principal.

Sounds like a sweet deal — and homeowners in foreclosure want in on it.

One woman whose investment home is being foreclosed upon by BofA says she’s been trying to stop the process, and would gladly take the same kind of deal as the NASCAR one.

“If they would just take off the interest, that would help,” she says. “They are still trying to foreclose on us, and we are still trying to fight them.”

John Autry, a Charlotte City Council member, chimed in as well, telling WBTV.com that neighborhoods have been struggling with foreclosures since the 2008 recession, and that he wishes the banks would be as “humane” toward homeowners in trouble as they were to NASCAR.

The banks say the deal is totally cool, and said they’ve been working to help people from losing their homes. Wells Fargo says it worked with Charlotte “reach a solution that supports the long-term viability of this city-owned landmark and benefits our community.” Bank of America said it has “made unprecedented investments to provide relief to mortgage customers in need of assistance … helped more than 2 million customers avoid foreclosure.”

The City Council will be voting on the proposal on Monday.

*Thanks for the tip, Dave!

After NASCAR debt write-off, some homeowners cry foul [WBTV.com]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist