The Mortgage Company Is Not a Friend

When I first decided to blog about the repair of our house, I thought it would be about design, colors, materials, etc.  But, the blog has become more about the challenges that are out there as we are trying to put our house back together.  Harvey is not always in the news, and it would be easy to feel like the city is back on its feet.  However, there are obstacles at every turn.
I am constantly reminding myself that others have it much worse than we do - without insurance, living in house that needs repair, staying with family / friends / in a hotel.  With all of that said, last week was rough.
The mortgage company is holding our insurance money hostage - for example: two of the documents that we sent in on October 24th (day they arrived in the mortgage company's hands), well they now need to be notarized.  Did it say that in our information packet? No.  Is there a designated spot for the notary? No.  It is just another "reason" why they are holding our money and have yet to issue our first check. And it is not just these forms, they reject about 50% of what I turn in (paperwork and receipts).
You might be thinking, "Your mortgage company is terrible and you should get a new one."  That question led me to do some research.  When we financed this house it was not with NationStar, now known as Mr. Cooper.  Mr. Cooper is a company that purchased the loan after closing.  This is common practice in the lending world of big banks, and if you purchased your home via a big lender this has likely happened to you.  As a borrower you have no say in who (company) can purchase or service your loan.  What!?  While consumers are protected by the original terms of the loan, the company that purchases / services your loan may be terrible in the customer service area (think the house bubble that burst in 2008 and all of the foreclosure mis-happs that followed) and the borrower has little recourse. So I did a little more research - you know who doesn't usually sell the servicing of mortgages?  Credit Unions.  If you have been looking for a call to action, this is something you may want to consider.  After the dust settles, we will be refinancing with our Credit Union!