Service and More for Mortgages

When a buyer takes out a mortgage for a house, a servicer comes with taking the loan. Loan servicers take care of tasks like getting taxes and insurance payments credited in a timely manner on behalf of the homeowner. You learn who your servicer will be when you close the loan. The servicing company may or may not be the same company as the mortgaging company. Typically your lender introduces you to the company who will service the loan.

Those who are servicing these mortgages compete a little harder when interest rates rise as they did late last year, because the homeowner is less likely to refinance meaning the servicer keeps a stream of income from servicing the loan over a longer term. Prices on servicing rights for mortgages backed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie rose by up to 9 % on average last year. Homeowners pay for this service through their loan.

Many homeowners find it slightly unnerving when a service company changes regarding a mortgage. There might be a new website to navigate and new customer service representatives. In recent years, some homeowners experienced two or more changes in servicers within a year’s time.

The one consistent point of contact that can help you understand and help navigate anticipated changes in your mortgage is typically your lender. These days, homeowners are not having to work through potential delinquencies of payments due to a difficult economy and thus are not needing to reach out to a servicer as much as in recent years; however, since lenders don’t need a borrower’s consent to sell a loan or servicing right, it is important to understand the potential changes that can happen with servicing. It is important to understand those servicing relationships and how your lender approaches servicing.

I always encourage borrowers to interview their lender. It’s an honor to have lifetime relationships with so many homeowners who trust and like what comes with the mortgages represented.

Please email me with your questions at MPattullo@PeakMtg.com

We lend where we live,

Michael Pattullo
Peak Mortgage
Mortgage Advisor • MLO# 229675 • Peakmtgnw.com
360-607-9312