In fact, most of the time, they are not the owner of the loan. As an example, 80% of all loans that Bank of America (regardless of if they were or were not Countrywide loans) handles are not owned by Bank of America at all. The majority of their loans are owned by Fannie Mae.
The largest owners of US mortgages are two companies that some would allege are owned by The United States Government, and the tax payers of this Country. They are the GSE's (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.) They own an estimated 55-60% of all US Mortgages.
An additional estimated 10-15% are insured by Uncle Sam as well, through the FHA and VA loan guarantee programs. Another estimated 10-15% are owned by Wall Street Firms, Pension Funds, and other entities.
What does this mean to you? It means the company you mail your check to every month is essentially a hired gun. They are paid to collect payments, handle accounting and escrows, collect on delinquent accounts, and act as the front person for the owner of the loan.
They forward the money received to the owner of the loan, minus a small fee to themselves. This small fee on thousands (or millions in some cases) of mortgages means they are paid very, very well. In fact, the business is so profitable that recently the IBM computer company opened a subsidiary loan servicing company (IBM Lender Business Process Services, Inc.)
Now that I have laid the groundwork, let me explain how the loan servicing companies have worked against the loan owners best interest.
Acting as a servicer puts them close to the legal equivalent of a trustee. This means they can do whatever they want to, right? NO! Let me explain.
A trustee has a fiduciary duty to whoever they represent. They are required to act in their client’s best interest.
If they do not do this, then they can be legally liable for any loss their loan owner incurs as a result of the trustee’s negligence. Just as real estate agents are required to act in their client’s best interest, loan servicers are also required to act in their client’s best interest.
Let’s say an agent listed a house and double sided it to a buyer for 200k. A 225k offer came in earlier, but the agent never presented it to the seller. Do you think the seller would be angry? Of course they would be.
Or, let’s say you managed an apartment community. You only had a leasing person on site one day a week. You did this to save money. As a result the apartment complex only leased half of their apartments for the next year.
You caused them to lose half of their year’s rents. Would that apartment manager be unhappy? You bet they would be. The loan servicers are doing the exact same thing.
Here are a few examples of them breaching their fiduciary duty to their clients:
Example #1: Not giving buyers an answer on a short sale within a reasonable time period. Loan servicers should help their investors recoup as much money as possible from short sales.
Example #2: Turning down loan mods that amortize at a higher value than what is netted on a short sale or thru REO. Let me explain in a little more detail. A homeowner had a reduction in income and can’t afford his original mortgage payment. The borrower has a stable income and agrees to pay $1,000 a month for the next 30 years. $1,000 a month for 30 years, at a 6.5% interest rate will repay a $158,210 mortgage.
The loan servicer turns down the loan mod and forecloses. The house sells for $125,000 as an REO and the servicer nets $115,000.
Did the loan owner lose money? I think most people would agree that they did. Obviously there are other factors involved, but I think they would have done better if they had approved the homeowner’s offer.
Example #3: Not listing foreclosed properties quickly enough. I have witnessed several examples of banks foreclosing on a house and then taking 6 months to a year to put it up for sale. As an example, there was a house foreclosed on September 9th, 2009. It was finally listed for sale 7 months later, in May 2010.
Say what you want, but waiting 7 months to put a property on the market is pathetic. If the mortgage holder had been an individual, do you think they would have listed the house a little faster than 7 months?
Thinking about a short sale? I can help you short sale your property and never pay the bank another dime. Send me an e-mail at utahhomesaver@gmail.com. I will contact you for a free consultation. When we talk, I will explain how the process works in detail and answer any questions you may have. Or, if you prefer, you can call Dave at 801-651-0707.
Thinking about a loan modification? Our Utah Home Saver Loan Modification Kit has the instructions you will need to get a loan modification approved with your bank. This is a FREE for you, all you have to do is call or email us today.
Thank you for taking a few minutes of your busy day to read this, Dave Forsberg.
Dave is a Realtor with Prudential Utah Real Estate - Bountiful.
Phone: 801.651.0707 Email: utahhomesaver@gmail.com
Dave Forsberg and The Utah Home Saver Team specialize in helping Davis County, Utah Homeowners short sale and never pay the bank another dime. Bountiful Loan Modification Help, Bountiful Short Sales. Bountiful Short Sale Realtor. Bountiful Realtors. Bountiful Realty. Bountiful Realtor. North Salt Lake Short Sales. Woods Cross Short Sale Realtor. Centerville Short Sales. Farmington Short Sale Realtor. Fruit Heights Short Sales. Kaysville Short Sales Realtor. Layton Short Sales. Layton Short Sales Realtors. Syracuse Short Sales. Clearfield Short Sales Realtor. Davis County Utah Realtor. Stop Foreclosure. Stop Utah Foreclosure. Avoid Foreclosure. Avoid Utah Foreclosure. Foreclosure Alternatives. Utah Foreclosure Alternatives. Bountiful Homes for Sale. Bountiful Houses for Sale.utahhomesaver@gmail.com
