Ken Williams wrote a song and though it might not be a smash hit, Bank of America heard it.
For more than 70 days, Williams said he and his wife sat in limbo as Bank of America missed three closing dates on the home they wanted to buy in Decatur. The bank, he said, wouldn't return calls or emails.
Staring at a potential fourth missed closing date on Friday and the prospect of being charged daily fees by the seller, Williams vented his frustration in song.
Last weekend Williams wrote and recorded a music video he posted Sunday afternoon on YouTube. He also has a blog.
“Bank of America, you’re making me so mad. I want to buy this house, really bad,” Williams sings in “Close This Loan,” a song modeled after “You’ve Got It Going On,” a tune from the HBO series "Flight of the Conchords."
“My credit score is 798. Don’t worry ’cause my payments will never be late,” Williams sings. He also tells the bank he wants a place for his cats and a garden gnome.
The closing was complicated, in part, he said, because two Bank of America employees handling his loan had quit the bank. That left the couple’s dream of homeownership lost in a paperwork shuffle, he said.
Williams also had friends reach out to Bank of America through social media channels. The music video had been seen by more than 1,000 viewers through Thursday afternoon.
“We didn’t have any leverage,” Williams said in an interview.
In response to questions by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bank of America said Thursday evening the loan will close this time.
“We apologize for the delay in closing Mr. Williams’ loan,” the bank said in a statement. “We are on target to close his loan [Friday]. For the inconvenience, we have provided him a credit at closing.”
Williams said he and his wife were pleased the bank decided to step up this time.
“It would be great [to close Friday},” Williams said. “We’ve been shooting for [Friday’s closing] the whole time.”
