My mortgage servicer is changing

This notice

The letter says the servicing of your mortgage loan is being transferred. A new company will collect your payments after a date printed on that paper.

That paper is a Notice of Servicing Transfer. The CFPB model form lives in Appendix MS-2. The first line of that form is the sentence above.

The CFPB page What happens if the company that I send my mortgage payments to changes? explains the timing. Your old servicer generally sends this notice at least 15 days before the transfer. Your new servicer generally sends a notice within 15 days after. The two companies may instead send one combined letter.

The CFPB rule at § 1024.33 says the notice must name both companies. It must give a phone number for each company. It must give the date the old company stops taking payments. It must give the date the new company starts. Those two dates are the same day or consecutive days.

This is not a force-placed insurance letter. That other paper is about hazard coverage on the house.

It is also not a notice that only the owner of your loan was sold. The CFPB page What happens if my mortgage is sold? covers that other letter. The owner can change while the servicer stays the same. That ownership letter is due within 30 days. Follow the payment address on the servicing-transfer notice.

Recent CFPB complaints describe this transfer letter at PennyMac, ServiceMac, Selene, NewRez, LoanCare, and Valon. Some people paid the old address after the printed date and then saw late fees. Some people never received any notice and had no new account number when the first bill came due.

Official path

1. Save both notices, including envelopes and any email copies. Write the transfer date on one sheet. Add the last day the old company accepts payments and the first day the new company does.

2. Read the CFPB servicing-transfer page. It lists what the notice should contain. Compare those items with the paper in your hand. The MS-2 model is the federal sample of that paper.

3. Update any automatic payment before the new company starts accepting money. Change bank bill-pay, a debit from the old servicer, and any online portal. The CFPB transfer page says a payment sent to the wrong company after you were notified may not be credited properly. Use the address printed on the notice, not an old coupon.

4. Watch the first statement from the new servicer. Confirm the payment posted for the correct month. The CFPB transfer page and § 1024.33 cover the 60-day window. For 60 days after the transfer date, the new servicer cannot treat a payment as late if the old servicer received it on time or within the grace period. That protection does not replace updating autopay.

5. Write a notice of error if a payment is missing, a late fee appears, or you never received the notice. Write if a pending loss-mitigation file was dropped. The CFPB page How do I dispute an error or request information about my mortgage? says to use the designated address. Find it on the notice, a monthly statement, or the servicer website. Do not write on a payment coupon. Use the CFPB sample notice-of-error letter. That page says the servicer must acknowledge the letter within five days, not counting weekends and legal public holidays. It generally must answer within 30 of those days. Keep paying while you wait.

6. Call a HUD-approved housing counselor if you are behind, or if a foreclosure notice arrived after the transfer. Use Mortgage help or Find a housing counselor. The error page also lists the HOPE Hotline at (888) 995-HOPE.

7. Submit a complaint at Submit a complaint if the payment still does not post. Do the same if no notice ever arrived. Attach both transfer letters, the bank record, and your error letter. That page says most companies respond within 15 days.

People on mortgage forums often wait for a phone agent to “onboard” the loan. The official pages win that conflict. Send the payment to the address on the notice. Then write the designated error address if the money is not credited.

What people reported

Often helps

• Changing bank bill-pay on the transfer date printed on the notice, then saving the confirmation, instead of waiting for a new website login.
• Sending a written notice of error when a payment that posted at the old company was treated as missing by the new company.

Often fails

• Paying the old address after the printed cutoff and only calling. CFPB narratives describe late fees and stacked “past due” months. Both companies sometimes said the other one had the file.

Template

[DATE]

[NEW SERVICER NAME]
Notice of Error / Request for Information
[DESIGNATED ADDRESS ON THE TRANSFER NOTICE, STATEMENT, OR SERVICER WEBSITE]

Re: Notice of Servicing Transfer, loan ending [LAST FOUR], property at [ADDRESS]

I am writing about the Notice of Servicing Transfer dated [NOTICE DATE]. It says servicing transfers on [TRANSFER DATE]. [OLD SERVICER] stops taking payments after [STOP DATE]. [NEW SERVICER] starts on [START DATE].

On [PAYMENT DATE] I sent [AMOUNT] to [OLD OR NEW SERVICER]. [PAYMENT NOT CREDITED / LATE FEE ADDED / NO TRANSFER NOTICE RECEIVED].

Please apply that payment as on time, reverse any late fee from this transfer, and send written confirmation. Please also send the payment address, account number, and a history from [MONTH] through [MONTH].

This is a notice of error and a request for information, not a payment.

Enclosed are copies of [TRANSFER NOTICE / BANK RECORD], not originals.

[FULL NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE]
[EMAIL]

Enclosures: [LIST]

Stop here if…

• The paper is about hazard insurance that is expiring, expired, or provides insufficient coverage, or it says the servicer bought force-placed insurance. That is a different notice.
• You received a loss-mitigation determination, a foreclosure sale date, or a Notice of Default. Those papers have different deadlines.
• You were served a lawsuit, summons, or foreclosure complaint. Court dates are not the same as a servicing-transfer letter.

FAQ

Is this the same as my loan being sold?

Not always. The CFPB page on a sold mortgage says the owner can change while the servicer stays the same. A Notice of Servicing Transfer is about who collects your payment. An ownership-transfer notice is a different letter and is due within 30 days of that sale.

I already sent a payment to the old company. Am I late?

The CFPB transfer page says that for 60 days after the transfer date, the new servicer cannot treat an on-time payment as late if the old servicer received it on time or within the grace period. Still update autopay so the next payment goes to the new address.

I never received a transfer notice. What now?

The CFPB transfer page says you can send a written notice of error or information request if you never received the notice. Use the designated address on a statement or the servicer’s website. Keep paying. Ask both companies in writing where the next payment should go.

Can the new servicer change my interest rate because of the transfer?

The CFPB model Notice of Servicing Transfer says nothing else about your mortgage loan will change. The transfer rule also says the notice must state that the transfer does not affect loan terms other than servicing. A rate change would need a different notice.

Should I skip a payment until the new website works?

No. The CFPB error page says to keep making payments while you wait for a written answer. Use the payment address on the transfer notice. Save the confirmation. A locked portal does not pause the due date.