Why do I need to look at monthly mortgage statement if I’m having trouble with my mortgage company?
There is great power in sending RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) letters to your mortgage company to get information and correct errors.
Dealing with mortgage companies can be a nightmare for you — they make all sorts of error and hide information from you. Especially if you are falling behind or trying to do loss mitigation.
And if you are facing a foreclosure — they become almost unbearable.
So you can use RESPA letters to help — they are incredibly powerful — but there is a huge problem.
So many consumers send them to the wrong address.
If you send them to an address of your mortgage company — but not the special “designated address” — then your powerful RESPA letters are worthless.
We’ll look at:
- What are RESPA letters
- Why do I have to send RESPA letters to the designated address
- How do I find the designated address
- What should I do next
What are RESPA letters
These used to be called “Qualified Written Request” letters or “QWR” letters but now we normally call them by their new names.
RFI — request for information.
They are what their names suggest. The RFI is when you need information from your mortgage company so you request it.
The NOE is when you suspect or know your mortgage company has made an error so you tell them about it and ask them to fix it.
If your mortgage company does not give you the valid information you requested — or does not fix the errors you point out to them — then you may be able to sue under RESPA and get money damages, attorney’s fees, and get other relief in court.
So these are very powerful letters but there is a common mistake we see over and over again. People send these very powerful RESPA letters to a valid address, but not the designated address for RESPA letters, and they get thrown in the trash . . . .
Why do I have to send RESPA letters to the designated address
Because if you don’t, they are worthless. Your mortgage company can laugh while it throws them away and there is nothing you can do about it.
Now, if your mortgage company chooses not to designate a special address, then that’s fine. But normally they will.
And if a designated address is out there, you must send to that address.
Judges normally will not “cut you any slack” even if you send to a company address and even if your mortgage company receives the RESPA letters.
You must use the specially designated address.
But what is that address?
How do I find the designated address
Look on your mortgage statement. It is often on the back side and says something like this:
For QWR (Qualified Written Requests), NOE (Notice Of Error), and RFI (Request For Information) letters, please send to …..
You can also call and ask — be very careful doing this that you right it down correctly. Being one number off on a PO box may doom your RESPA letters.
Look on their website — it should say it there also.
My suggestion is double and triple check to make sure you are correct.
And keep in mind these companies that are willing to cheat and lie and illegally foreclose will also change the designated address multiple times. So you can not rely on what it was last month.
Or on your monthly mortgage statement 6 months ago.
Instead, today, when you are sending your letters, check it again. Better safe than sorry, right?
What should I do next
Figure out what information you need and what errors you believe your mortgage company is making.
Then prepare the right types of RESPA letters.
Find the designated address and make sure you send the letters to the correct address.
If you need any help or have any questions and you live in Alabama, give us a call at 205-879-2447 and we’ll be glad to help you.
Or you can contact us through this website and we’ll email or call you right back.
Thanks!
PS — You may want to read about the one secret that your mortgage company prays you will never learn about stopping foreclosures.