A friend posted something on his Facebook wall that inspired me to write this quick beware. The newest mortgage scam is targeting new home buyers and those who have just refinanced their home. The scam involves receiving a letter from an apparent loan servicing company and states that they have bought your loan and that you should begin sending your monthly payment to them rather than the original lender. The letters look official enough but there are a few things that can help you avoid becoming a victim of this.
When using a lender, more often than not they are just a loan ”originator” who will sell the paper, or note, to what is known as a loan ”servicer”. The servicer then holds the note until it is paid in full. The trick of the scam is that most lenders will let their customers know that they will be selling the loan to a servicer and to expect to see a letter from the new note holder. This is what the scammers are hoping for. What you need know is that before you receive a letter from the new loan servicer, you will receive a letter from the company or bank that made the original loan stating that they will no longer be servicing the loan and to no longer send them a payment. Once you have received that, you will get a letter from the new loan servicer stating such info and the letter will be accompanied by a coupon booklet to send in with your payments. All of these communication will have your original loan number on them which will be missing from the phony letters.
Sounds clear as mud, huh! Remember, if you have any questions regarding your loan or if you feel that something is wrong, call your lender and they can clear up any issues you have. If you are thinking of buying a house in the Tulsa area or any of its surrounding communities, you can contact me through my website at http://chrisharmon.kwrealty.com. I can recommend a great local lender and help you find the house of your dreams.
Chris, thanks for the information. Not to change the subject, but I live in a popular, centrally located area of town. Homes listed by agents sell fairly quickly but two homes in particular, FSBO, have been on the market for several months. What’s the difference in the turn around time when listing with an agent and trying to sell it FSBO? It seems going the FSBO route (in the long run) isn’t profitable if the house sits for months because its overpriced.
That’s a good question. There will be several factors that determine how long a house sits on the market. Price is definitely a key player in the equation. If a house is overpriced, it doesn’t matter if it is listed with an agent or FSBO, it will sit on the market for much longer than a house that is priced competitively. On average, Tulsa homes spend just over a month on the market. This also depends heavily on location, if no one wants to live where the house is it may be doomed to sit on the market. Tulsa actually ranked in the top ten in the nation for least days on market just a few months ago. When a home is listed with a Realtor it is typically marketed to potential buyers and other Realtors in a general sense. This alone goes further than a FSBO. With agents who have a strong internet presence the marketing goes well above this, reaching buyers across the nation. Not to brag, but Keller Williams is an industry leader, ensuring that their listings are sent to over 350 search engines specific to home searches. Homes that I list in the Tulsa area usually sell within 2 months of the original list date if the seller is willing to list the house at a competitive price for the area.