B of A goofs again on mortgage paperwork

The bank notified a Brooklyn homeowner last week that it didn't have all the documents needed to finalize a loan modification application. There was just one problem: The letter was addressed to a couple who had sold the apartment in 1998. The current homeowner, who happens to be a WSJ reporter, has never had a mortgage on the property. From the Journal:

Bank of America says this letter was sent in error after a loan modification negotiator entered in the wrong nine-digit loan number and that the incident appears to have been "very isolated." "It was simply someone going into a template [who] punched in the wrong number," said a bank spokeswoman. "Obviously, we're very sorry for the confusion."

Here's another example of how mismanagement and occasional incompetence is behind much of the foreclosure slip-ups, not some deliberate attempt by the banks to put the squeeze on homeowners in default.