Connect with me:
It is a common and acceptable practice. A borrower is approved for a mortgage, they purchase their home, and then the original lender sells the borrower’s loan to a new servicer. Scam artists know this and are taking advantage of it.
Newly acquired mortgages are recorded at the local courthouse and are a matter of public record. It is quite easy for these scam artists to find people to prey upon. They send a letter to people that have recently taken out a mortgage indicating that they are now servicing the loan. The letter looks very official, sometimes even contains a payment coupon, and gives a PO Box to mail the payment to. The PO Box exists for a month or two until authorities catch on to the scam, and then the scam artists close up shop and move on.
So how can you protect yourself? Every time a loan is sold to a new servicer, the original servicer sends a “goodbye letter” indicating the loan is being sold and who the loan is being sold to. The new servicer will send a “hello letter” indicating they are now servicing the loan and where to send the monthly payment.
If you do not receive a “goodbye letter” from your current servicer, do not act on any “hello letters” that you receive. Better yet, call your current servicer to find out if the loan has indeed been sold.
Share:Connect with me:
