{"id":369122,"date":"2016-04-04T10:47:15","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/realestate\/foreclosure\/contacting-your-loan-servicer.html"},"modified":"2024-01-08T08:53:12","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T13:53:12","slug":"contacting-your-loan-servicer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/realestate\/foreclosure\/contacting-your-loan-servicer.html","title":{"rendered":"Contacting Your Loan Servicer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Contacting Your Loan Servicer<\/h1>\n
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\n By FindLaw Staff<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Katrina Wilson, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

When you’re struggling with making mortgage payments, things can get stressful. If you’re many days late making payments, the sense that things may get very bad very fast can be tough to handle. How to navigate this stress can be very confusing, as you might not even know something as simple as how the bank may no longer own your mortgage. It might, for example, have been sold to a handler or another third party.<\/p>\r\n

Continue reading to learn more about how to contact your mortgage loan servicer. It may very well be an entity different from the one that originally issued your home loan. This article will also address other varieties of debt, including credit card and student loan debt. In cases where you default on a credit card, your debt may also be transferred to a third-party servicer, as well. The same is true of student debt.<\/p>\r\n

Who Is My Loan Servicer?<\/h2>\r\n

In the period of time preceding a foreclosure, it’s possible your bank or the entity that issued your mortgage might have sold the mortgage to a loan servicer or other third party. It’s possible that the original lender is no longer in control of the loan. Banks will sell defaulted debt to such entities at a fraction of the defaulted loan’s value. That entity will then try to recover more than the cost for which they purchased it. They will do so by pursuing you for the debt.<\/p>\r\n

This may leave you wondering whom to contact about your loan. Perhaps you’ve contacted your bank and discovered they are no longer able to answer questions about your debt. They will, however, be able to tell you to whom they’ve sold the debt, if they have indeed sold it. <\/p>\r\n

If you have not received correspondence from another entity, you may wonder who is servicing your loan. You might not even know where to start the process of preventing a foreclosure. To learn more about this, review FindLaw’s article on this topic<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

In cases where you have defaulted on a credit card, it is possible the same will occur. A bank can tell you to whom they’ve sold the debt, but you could also determine who may have the debt by obtaining a credit report. The same is true of student loan debt. If you cannot determine who your student loan servicer is, you will be able to see it on a credit report. Such a report will list all account numbers and all amounts outstanding in those accounts.<\/p>\r\n

What To Prepare Before Speaking With Your Loan Servicer<\/h2>\r\n

Once you have determined who your mortgage loan servicer is, you should only contact them after you have prepared to speak with them. Record your income and expenses. Calculate the equity in your home. To calculate the equity in your home, estimate the market value of the home. Subtract the balance of your first and any second mortgage or home equity loan from that value. <\/p>\r\n

At the same time, write down the answers to the following questions, as you’ll need responses ready for the following questions that the servicer will definitely ask:<\/p>\r\n