Your mortgage payments increased unexpectedly.  Maybe your escrow balance is low, taxes increased, or your insurance premium increased.  In any event, you want to verify the information your bank or loan servicers has on file.  You call the servicer and often you must depend on their word if you are able to obtain an answer at all.  Maybe, the servicer used the pandemic as a reason for lost or inconsistent information.  What can you do to verify information or obtain documents when you dispute your mortgage payment increase or account information?

            Pursuant to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”), Congress created a federal law to allow homeowners a mechanism to obtain answers and documents in a timely manner.  The law also allows homeowners to obtain corrections to their account.   Prior to 2014, this formal request was called a qualified written request.  However, today it is simply referred to as a request for information and notice of error.  Under RESPA, the bank or loan servicer, must acknowledge the request or notice within five business days of receipts.  Next, the servicer must conduct a reasonable investigation within thirty business days of receipt of the request for information.  In the interim during this investigation the servicer cannot give any information to a credit reporting agency if a payment related to the inquiry is overdue. 

            If you are facing foreclosure and are unsure of your options, it is important to remember that the sooner you develop a strategy, the more successful your foreclosure defense will be.  The documents you receive from the request for information are useful in developing a defense strategy.  If your property is already in foreclosure litigation, then the court rules for discovery will provide an additional avenue to review and receive documents about your account. 

For many homeowners, the loan servicers may ignore your request or may falsely claim your correspondence does not qualify as a formal request for information and notice of error.  Therefore, it is worth your time to engage a foreclosure defense attorney.  In some situations, a request for information and notice of error is all a family needs to get their account back on track.   Such tactics may prevent foreclosure and deficiency judgments.  If you are falling behind on your mortgage, it is in your best interest to plan a foreclosure defense strategy. Do not ignore a notice from your bank and do not wait until a sheriff’s deputy is knocking down your door. Contact us online (www.legalfreedomlaw.com) or give us a call at 312-253-7363 today for a consultation to discuss your options.