It is hard to believe that we are done with the first quarter of 2024 already, and as we head into the second quarter, we thought it would be a good time to talk about monthly mortgage payments. Orion’s brokers know that servicing is the collection of those monthly mortgage payments. If your client’s loan payment is set-up with an escrow (aka impound) account for taxes and insurance, their servicer will disburse those payments as well.

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The rights to service your client’s loan are a financial asset, similar to owning a rental property or share of stock. And like those assets, servicing can be sold or bought, depending on the goals of the company. It is not uncommon for property owners to receive notice that their loan “servicing” is being transferred to another company. These transfers are often smooth but there are steps you can help your client take to help ease the transition. Orion takes your customer’s satisfaction with the entire mortgage process very seriously; The last thing Orion wants is to have any of their money misplaced “in the system.”

If they are set up on autopay for their mortgage payment, whether or not they’re with Orion, we advise borrowers to make sure they cancel the payment to their soon to beold servicer. And it is important to save their recent statement as it will provide verification of outstanding mortgage balance and the balance in the impound account for taxes and insurance. Also, the statement will show the total interest paid to that servicer for their records for filing tax returns they can match to the IRS form 1098 (mortgage interest paid).

After your client has made the initial payment to the new servicer, they should verify the payment has cleared their bank account and then contact the new servicer to confirm payment has been applied to their account. If your client has an impound account, they should ask what the balance is in the impound account before and after the payment to verify their payment has been applied properly. They should not set up auto-pay until they have made one, and preferably two, payments to their new servicer and received statements confirming the payments have been properly applied.

Orion reminds borrowers that anyone who has an impound account for taxes and insurance, be sure to follow up when these balances are due to verify each was paid on time and in full. Property tax information is available on the website for the county in which your client’s property is located. They should contact their insurance company to confirm that they have a new servicer and ask to be notified when the payment has been made. And if you have any questions whatsoever, contact your Orion AE!

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