Wondering who owns your Mortgage?

Many people are finding out now that the bank who made their mortgage loan is no longer the bank who owns it. While that bank may still service the loan, the actual owner may be layers deep in the mortgage market. Knowing who owns you loan is important if you want to renegotiate the terms or discuss a short sale.

According to Realty Times, "You should be able to call the phone number on your last mortgage statement or the number in your payment coupon book and connect directly with your lender. More often than not, this merely puts you in touch with the servicer – the business that collects and processes your payments. In some cases, the servicer is prohibited from divulging the true identity of your lender. In other cases, the person you're dealing with has no idea who your lender is.

Mortgages are often sliced and diced and repackaged into mortgage backed securities (MBS's) that are sold and traded on Wall Street.

To add to the confusion, the mortgage meltdown sank many banks and other lending institutions which were taken over by other banks or regulators.

So, what should you do if you're trying to track down your lender? Take the following approach:

1. Call the phone number on your most recent mortgage statement or your payment coupon book. This will put you in touch with the servicer who may also be the lender who owns your mortgage or at least be able to tell you the name of your lender. (Remember, the person may not know or may not be permitted to tell you.)

2. If you have an FHA loan, contact FHA's National Servicing Center to determine who owns your mortgage:
(800) CALL- FHA / (800) 225- 5342
Email hsg-lossmit@hud.gov

3. You can try to contact Fannie Mae. If they own the note, they may provide the identity of the investor: 1-800-7FANNIE (1-800-732-6643).

4. If the mortgage is listed as MOM or has a MIN (Mortgage Identification Number) assigned to it, you can search the MERS database by mortgage identification number (MIN), your name and social security number, or the property's address. Dial the toll-free MERS Servicer Identification System at 888-679-6377 (an automated touch-tone system) or search online.

5. If you know the name of the bank or other lending institution that owns your mortgage but have no contact information for them, check out Hope Now .

One of the most important steps to saving your home from foreclosure is to get in touch with your lender immediately. Better yet, hire a qualified attorney with experience in foreclosures and loan modifications to contact your lender on your behalf, so you have legal representation on your side."

Source: Realty Times