14E // Real Estate & Home Builders Guide // January 2017
Once mortgage is fully
paid, follow up with
lender to release lien
By Ilyce Glink
and Samuel J. Tamkin
Tribune Content Agency
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W
Q
A
: My lender did not release the
mortgage lien when I paid off my
mortgage. How can I get this fixed?
: If your lender didn’t release your
mortgage lien when you paid off your
loan, you will need to take action in order
to correct the situation.
The best lenders will take several steps
once you have made your final mortgage
payment. The first step is to process your
payoff amount, and show your account as
paid in full. The next step is to report the
loan as “paid in full” with the major credit
reporting agencies, including Equifax,
Experian and Transunion, among others
that they may report information to each
month.
You lender should also send you a final
statement that indicates that your loan
was paid in full and you have a statement
balance of zero. In case the lender was
holding any funds in escrow for your real
estate taxes and/or insurance, your lender
should send you a check for the amount it
is still holding.
Finally, the best lenders would send
you the original note and mortgage, with
the documents stamped “cancelled.” With
those documents, your lender may also
send you the release of the mortgage.
If the lender sends you the release of
the mortgage, you must then have that
document filed or recorded in the local
or county office that handles the filing
or recording of real estate documents. In
many situations, the lender will send the
release of mortgage or trust deed directly
to that governmental office, which would
file or record it, and you wouldn’t need to
take any further action.
Over the last 10 to 15 years, some
lenders have not followed through and
have failed to send out the documentation
required to release their liens. It appears
that you’re in this camp and you now need
to call your lender and request that they
send out the release.
Before you call your lender, please make
sure that the lender didn’t send the release
for recording. In many states and locations,
you can see if the release is recorded by
searching your property records online.
M
E
E = EAST: Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam & Wheeler Counties
M = MOUNTAIN: Union, Wallowa, Baker, Grant, Malheur & Harney Counties
W= WEST: Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam & Wheeler Counties
THINKSTOCK IMAGE
Now not all records are online, but if they
are, you can search and see if you see the
release.
Most frequently, you need your property
index number, or parcel identification
number or tax parcel number to search
the property records. If you have online
access and see that the release is recorded,
you might be fine and might not need to
take any further action. It would be ideal
if you could get the cancelled documents
back (for bragging rights, if nothing else),
but if you have the release recorded and
you received a statement from the bank
showing that your loan balance is paid in
full, you should be fine.
If the release is not recorded, you’ll
need your last statement and you’ll need
to call the lender. The lender will probably
transfer you to the “release” department.
That department will request your loan
number and will confirm that the loan is
paid in full. They may then tell you that the
release had been sent out or that they will
send a duplicate release out to either the
government office for filing or recording or
to you for you to record or file.
In either case, you can see if you get
the document within a couple of weeks.
Usually after the document is filed or
recorded, the original should be sent to
you. If you receive it, you should be set. If
you don’t get anything about a month later,
you’ll have to keep following up with the
lender until you get the recorded or filed
document or the original for you to record
or file. Thanks for your question.
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