How Do I Find Out Who Owns My Mortgage Loan

Second Look Up Your Loan Online

Nearly half of the nations mortgages are owned or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. To look up online whether your mortgage is owned or backed by Fannie or Freddie, click these links:

• Is my loan backed by Fannie Mae?

• Is my loan backed by Freddie Mac?

These sites aren’t guaranteed, but it’s a great starting point, and if your loan populates here, then it’s safe to say that it’s backed by the government.

Here’s a list of other sites you could check:

List of federal agencies and entities

Raise And Resolve Disputes Or Errors

If the servicer made a mistake or charged you a fee you dont owe, correct it as soon as possible. But keep making your regular monthly mortgage payment. Dont subtract the disputed amount from your mortgage payment. Some servicers will refuse to accept what they consider a partial payment. They could return your check and charge you a late fee, or claim that your mortgage is in default and start foreclosure proceedings.

Dont write your dispute on your payment coupon or a copy of your monthly mortgage statement. Instead, contact your servicer in writing and explain the problem

• Use the Sample Complaint Letter to write your request, including your account number and an explanation of why you think your account is incorrect.
• Gather any documents that support your request. Your records should include copies of your statements, coupon book, and paperwork showing that you made your payments . These can serve as proof of your payment history and your interactions with the servicer.
• Send your letter and copies of any documents that support your request to the mortgage servicers customer service address by certified mail, and request a return receipt. This may be a different address from where you send your payments.
• Keep a copy of your letter and the originals of the documents you sent.

Knock On Their Door Or Leave A Note

If youre the brazen and bold type, knocking on the door might get you face-to-face with the current owner. If anyone answers who isnt the owner, they may know how to contact the owner. Remain courteous and respectful with whomever answers the door. If no one answers, you could leave a note with your contact information, asking the owner to get in touch if theyd consider selling.

This is the riskiest method on this list and may not work for you. The owner may not want to talk to you. If you choose this route, you may get your answer faster on whether the owner will sell. It could save you time and effort. Just know the answer may be no.

Also Check: Chase Mortgage Recast Fee

If A Lender Is Holding Your Mortgage Deferment Options Will Be A Lot More Flexible But If Your Mortgage Has Been Sold On The Secondary Market It’s Much More Complicated

Do you know whether your home mortgage is owned by a lender or an investor in the secondary market? Probably not. After all, under normal circumstances knowing this is not really necessary. But in a time like this when many people are looking to defer monthly mortgage payments due to financial hardship brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, this is very important to know because it could determine how long you can defer your payments.

CNBC recently reported that some homeowners who had mortgages with Bank of America were struggling to defer payments for more than a few months. One specific borrower mentioned in the article said the bank told her she could delay her $2,200 monthly mortgage payment for three months but then would have to pay the entire sum that was deferred, as well as the current mortgage payment on the fourth month.

That’s not super helpful, considering the pandemic could last for much of the year. When most borrowers defer payments, they prefer to add those payments to the end of the loan so they have time to catch their breath, as opposed to having to pay them in four months.

Image Source: Getty

How Do I Know Who Owns My Mortgage

As a homeowner, there are several reasons you may need to know who owns, backs, or services your mortgage loan. Finding out who owns your mortgage isnt always straightforward. Throughout the life of your mortgage, your loan may have been sold multiple times, and the company you currently send your mortgage payments to every month may not necessarily be the owner of the mortgage.

Continue reading to learn how you can find out who owns your mortgage and why you may find this information helpful.

• Reach Out for Help

Recommended Reading: Rocket Mortgage Requirements

Who Are The Top Mortgage Loan Servicers

Some mortgage loan servicers maintain better relationships with their customers than others.

J.D. Powers Mortgage Servicer satisfaction study asks homeowners what they think of their mortgage servicers in five areas: communication, customer interaction, billing and payment process, and escrow account administration.

Here are the 15 servicers that came out on top for satisfaction .

Top mortgage servicing companies for 2021

1Top 15 mortgage servicing companies according to J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study. See the full report here

Visit The County Records Office

Some counties do not publish property records online or publish only non-identifying information that does not include the name of the homeowner or mortgage holder. In these jurisdictions, youll have to go to the county records office in person and use one of the public terminals to look up the land records for the subject property. To search the database, youll need the propertys full address and, ideally, the name of the homeowner. You can order copies of recorded documents for a small fee.

Also Check: How Does Rocket Mortgage Work

Additional Mortgage Servicing Tasks

As someone with a mortgage, youre required to do certain things to protect the investor or company that owns your mortgage, like maintain enough insurance. Fortunately, these things tend to protect you as well.

Your servicer will periodically check to make sure youre holding up your end of the bargain. If, for example, they discover that youre not carrying as much homeowners insurance or flood insurance as youre required to, your servicer will let you know. They will tell you how much insurance you must carry and how to provide proof of that coverage.

If you dont respond to the servicers requests to demonstrate that you have the required coverage , your servicer can put forced place insurance on your propertyand add the cost onto your mortgage balanceafter notifying you at least 45 days before charging you for it.

Another task mortgage servicers handle applies only to borrowers with an adjustable-rate mortgage . If you have this type of loan, your servicer is responsible for telling you when your interest rate will change. They also have to give you an estimate of your new rate and monthly payment. They have to notify you 210 to 240 days before the rate adjustment.

Finally, if you decide to refinance or pay off your mortgage, your servicer has seven business days to tell you the payoff amount.

Confirm Your Loan Balance And Account Information

If youre looking to refinance or pay off your loan balance before the end of the loan term, youll need to confirm the payoff amount with the servicer. The payoff amount is what you still owe on your loan. Its not the same as your current loan balance because the payoff amount includes the interest accrued up through the day you expect to pay off the loan, and any fees you havent yet paid. Call your servicer to get your payoff amount as of a specific date.

Before you decide to pay off your mortgage, consider these questions.

1. Will you owe a prepayment penalty? Check your monthly billing statement, coupon book, or the paperwork you signed at the loan closing to see whether youll owe a prepayment penalty if you pay your loan back early. Usually, a penalty applies only if you pay off the entire loan .

2. Do you owe other money? It may make more sense to pay off other loans, credit cards, and car loans first especially if youre paying a higher interest rate on them.

3. Whats your situation? Decide whether it works in your favor to pay the loan early. Do you plan to stay in your home for the long term? Are you nearing retirement? Will there be tax implications to paying off your mortgage? Does any benefit offset having to pay a penalty?

Recommended Reading: Can You Get A Reverse Mortgage On A Manufactured Home

Who Is My Mortgage Servicer

A mortgage servicer handles the day-to-day management of your mortgage loan account. This includes collecting payments, applying funds, and managing escrow accounts. The servicer is who you contact if you have questions about your mortgage loan account. For more information about mortgage servicing, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

Your mortgage servicer is the company that sends you the bill for your mortgage payment. You should receive monthly statements from your mortgage servicer, even if you are in foreclosure. However, you may not receive one if you filed bankruptcy. From time to time, a mortgage servicer may sell the servicing rights to your mortgage. In most instances, you are entitled to notice of the transfer from both your old and new servicer. You should receive this notice even if you are in the foreclosure process. If you do not know who services your mortgage, you may be able to find out your servicer by calling MERS at 1-888-679-6377 or visiting the MERS website. If your loan is not in the MERS system, look for the most recent mortgage statement you have and ask that servicer.

Why Did Your Mortgage Lender Sell Your Loan

If youve ever taken out a mortgage, theres a good chance the lender who made the loan to you sold it to another bank or investor before you made your first payment. Theres also a good chance that if youve had your mortgage for a few years, it may have been sold at least one or two more times. Why all the paper shuffling? The answer is fairly straightforward.

Lenders typically sell loans for two reasons. The first is to free up capital that can be used to make loans to other borrowers. The other is to generate cash by selling the loan to another bank while retaining the right to service the loan. Cash is generated when the old lender charges the new lender a fee for collecting and disbursing the monthly payments. In the end, your loan could be owned by lender A while you make payments to lender B.

On a personal note, I once obtained a mortgage loan from one of the local community banks here in Las Cruces. I was informed at the closing that my loan had already been sold to what financial guru Clark Howard calls a multi mega-bank . In turn, the MMB sold the loan to the General National Mortgage Association . Until the mortgage was paid off, I continued to make my monthly payments to the MMB, who retained the servicing rights, even though Ginnie Mae is the owner of my loan.

See you at closing.

Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and president of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces. He loves to answer questions and can be reached at 642-2292 or .

Don’t Miss: How Does The 10 Year Treasury Affect Mortgage Rates

How Can I Tell Who Owns My Mortgage

You can look up who owns your mortgage online, call, or send a written request to your servicer asking who owns your mortgage. The servicer has an obligation to provide you, to the best of its knowledge, the name, address, and telephone number of who owns your loan.

Its not always easy to tell who owns your mortgage. Many mortgage loans are sold and the servicer you pay every month may not own your mortgage. Whenever the owner of your loan transfers the mortgage to a new owner, the new owner is required to send you a notice.

If you dont know who owns your mortgage, there are different ways to find out.

Why Do Lenders Sell Mortgages

As we mentioned above, lenders are the entities that finance your loan. This means that they lay out the funds you need in order to purchase your home. However, lenders only have so much money that they can lend once theyve spent it all, they need to recoup some in order to continue issuing new loans.

On the one hand, selling your loan clears their debt and allows them to extend more on new loans. On the other hand, they may choose to sell your loan to raise funds selling your loan guarantees immediate cash, whereas their investment in your loan can take 15 to 30 years to recoup.

Mortgage investors buy loans on the secondary market. Government-sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will purchase conforming mortgagesthe types of mortgages that meet their standards.

When a lender sells your loan, your servicer might not actually change. Although lenders are required to give you notice of the sale within 30 days, the actual loan changing hands does not necessarily affect the servicer. This is true even if your lender also acts as your servicer they may opt to sell the mortgage and retain the right to service it.

Servicers, meanwhile, may not own your mortgage. As we mentioned before, they are the consumer-facing company with whom you interact. Companies may choose to sell servicing rights because maintaining mortgage services can be both costly and time-consuming.

Read Also: Rocket Mortgage Conventional Loan

Does It Cost Money To Seek Mortgage Assistance

Your mortgage servicer will never charge an application fee or other upfront fee to review you for a foreclosure alternative. Also, federal and state laws do not allow companies to charge you an upfront fee to help with a loan modification. See Foreclosure-Related Scams for more information.

Many resources offer assistance at no charge. These include US Department of Housing and Urban Development approved housing counselors, legal aid organizations, and the AGOs Consumer Advocacy and Response Division. See Resources for Distressed Homeowners for more information.

Ways To Find The Owner Of A Property

It can be a slog to find the right house. And when you do, it may not be up for sale. Take these ways to find out who owns a house so you can lure them to sell.

There are several ways to find the owner of the property youre interested in. Some ways are more direct than others, but any way will rely on your charisma to convince the owner to sell.

You May Like: Recast Mortgage Chase

Check Your Local Assessors Office

On your local assessors official website, you may be able to look up property tax records. All you need is the homes address. You can learn who owns the home as well as how much property tax they pay.

This is a great way to find out who owns a property for free. Keep in mind you may have to pay for physical documents.

Mortgage Servicing Companies Matter More Than Ever

Chances are, the company that you send your mortgage payments to isnt the owner of the loan or the original lender.

Instead, payments are sent to a separate mortgage servicing company.

Mortgage servicers tend to be out of sight, out of mind. You usually dont have to interact with them aside from sending monthly payments.

But when you do need help from your mortgage servicer for instance, to remove PMI or request mortgage relief you want it to be a good experience.

Heres what you need to know about mortgage servicers, including what to do if youre unhappy with your company.

Read Also: 70000 Mortgage Over 30 Years

Understanding How Mers Works: Mortgage Tracking

When a bank or financial institution sells a mortgage, an assignment is prepared and recorded in the appropriate county land records. This assignment is a document that shows that the mortgage has been transferred to a new owner.

This can be a labor-intensive process, requiring the owners of a loan to create an assignment with the county recorder every time a loan is sold. Because mortgage loans can sell several times during their lifetimes, this would require a lot of paperwork and time from loan owners.

The mortgage banking industry created MERS to simplify this process. MERS runs a database that tracks mortgages for member companies as they are sold from one bank to another financial institution. This means that loan owners who are members of MERS no longer have to submit assignments on their own.

Using The Mers Database

If the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan lookup tools dont bear results, and you cant track down your mortgage servicer to ask questions, there is another online lookup option. The Mortgage Electronic Registration System, MERS, tracks homeownership across the country. Its searchable database is used by professionals across all aspects of real estate lending, as well as consumers.

You can search the MERS database at mers-servicerid.org/sis or call 888-679-6377. You can search by inputting an 18-digit mortgage identification number, details about yourself and the property or data from your Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs or Mortgage Insurance certificate.

Recommended Reading: Rocket Mortgage Payment Options

Fannie Mae Mortgage Loan Lookup

Our Loan Lookup tool is the path to mortgage help for homeowners with a Fannie Mae-owned loan, including those impacted by COVID-19, a disaster, or housing affordability challenges.

If we own your loan, you may qualify for programs providing payment relief including a forbearance plan or loan modification. Youll also have access to live personalized assistance from HUD-approved housing counselors through our Mortgage Help Network or Disaster Response Network.

To use the Fannie Mae Loan Lookup tool, fill in every field below carefullya mistake or typo can give you the wrong results. Then check the box to provide consent and click Get results.

The Fannie Mae Loan Lookup is provided as a convenience for borrowers. Fannie Mae makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee regarding the accuracy or completeness of the results. A search that results in a “Match Found” status does not guarantee or imply that you will qualify for a Making Home Affordable® refinance or modification. Information that does not match our records exactly may return inaccurate results. You should contact your mortgage company to verify these results. Making Home Affordable is a trademark of the United States Department of the Treasury.