mortgage bank won't take my money

[Yossarian]

So I had enough cash laying around to pay off the mortgage. Called Chase Finance to find out how much would pay it off and they gave me a quote and advised I send my payment to X address. So I did, feeling good about paying it off. Low and behold they send the check back to me. They claim that I have to get an official payoff statement and send them a "guaranteed" check. I tried to explain to them that this isn't like I am selling a house and need them to release a lien by a certain date. They can wait until the check clears for all I care. Morons admit I can pay principal down to $1, but claim the last payment (e.g. $1) has to be a guaranteed check.

I pitched a huge fit but it was wasted on the low level customer service rep. Has anyone else encountered anything like this?

 

[dmpi]

Same thing happend to us, we paid ours down to $200, then had to get a certified bank check for the last payment. I'm not sure why, but this seem to be the rule.

 

[bubba]

Never heard of such a thing. So, you are continuing to pay interest on your mortgage while you and Chase mail this check back and forth. I'd be tempted to call and demand to speak with a supervisor on Monday and then throw my attorney's name around. That can't be in the fine print of your mortgage docs (can it?).

 

[REWahoo]

What a crock of buzzard droppings.

 

[Spanky]

We had to do the same things - sending them a certified check for the remaining balance. It seems that is a standard practice.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yeah thats nice. They get to keep collecting a few more days interest and make you jump through a hoop to get out. What the heck, its not like they'd ever be in consideration for future business.

Getting two bucks today is way better than thousands later on, right?

I paid off my mortgage with an online transfer, and my girlfriends with a personal check. Wanna bet the latter put me on a couple of watch lists?

 

[maddythebeagle]

pay it down to 1 dollar then and let them continue to service it...make sure you stop your bank debit for the payment so that they have to send you a statement every month

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Bwahahaha.

And make sure you cancel any electronic statements options. And check to make sure there are no minimum payment amounts or anything fishy like that.

What great fun idle minds create...

 

[Nords]

I pitched a huge fit but it was wasted on the low level customer service rep. Has anyone else encountered anything like this?

Never. But then we've only paid off a mortgage once in our lives, from the credit union where we have all our accounts, and they just transferred the money from our checking account.

I once sent in a HELOC payment for what I thought was the amount owed and ended up $1.36 short. The balance never showed on the credit union's website because it was "too small" and it was several months before I happened to download an online statement. But they had dutifully tracked the account the entire time, so I had to transfer $1.39 to clear my debt.

So maybe you could apply for a Chase HELOC, and then you could write a check from that account!

 

[Rich]

Paid off my home a few years ago. Just sent them the dough, no hassle.

?

Rich

 

[enfp]

We just did this. wells Fargo told us it had to be a cashier's check and we had to pay a processing fee and overnight it. It pissed my DH off. They told him the processing fee was for paying it off at a different time than the normal monthly payment time, so we took the chance it would work the way we wanted it. So he payed half with one regular payment, almost half 2 weeks later so the next regular monthly payment would be just about the remainder. Which we then payed. Now they owe us the remaining little bit of interest and have said they will send us. It seems to have worked.

 

[nepo]

Chase requirements are typical in the industry. Check your statements. There's usually a telephone number to call if you want to payoff the mortgage. They will give you instructions and they may also require a small payoff fee ($15 in my case six years ago). That's all you had to do to avoid this hassle. It's not worth wasting one more minute, just do what they say.

 

[W2R]

I don't recall the certified check when I paid off my Chase mortgage, but maybe they required one. I just don't remember. I did what nepo suggested (called the number on my statement and then did what they asked me to do). The surprise for me was that a few weeks after I paid it off, they sent me back $1350 or so. Guess they had asked for too much. Anyway, that was a nice surprise.

 

[Texas Proud]

We had to do the same things - sending them a certified check for the remaining balance. It seems that is a standard practice.

I was not with Chase on my prime mortgage... but just sent them a check and it was cashed.... no muss, no fuss...

And I did have a HELOC with Chase... paid it off with a ACH...


Don't know why they can 'require' you to pay with a certified check...

 

[Texas Proud]

I don't recall the certified check when I paid off my Chase mortgage, but maybe they required one. I just don't remember. I did what nepo suggested (called the number on my statement and then did what they asked me to do). The surprise for me was that a few weeks after I paid it off, they sent me back $1350 or so. Guess they had asked for too much. Anyway, that was a nice surprise.

Were you paying them to hold for taxes and insurance If so.. that is what you got back..

 

[Ronstar]

I sold some stock through a broker and took the broker's check to the bank where I had my mortgage. I either deposited the brokers check into my checking or signed over the brokers check to the bank for payment. I cant remember. Anyway, the bank accepted that as the last payment - but mailed the release of mortgage to the broker.

 

[OAG]

Banks. Another reason I can add to the "reasons to avoid" list. I have not had a mortgage for over 20 years since I have paid cash for last four homes but when I pay cash they want "certified" or some other type of BS. I have just given them a personal check at settlement and never discuss what I plan to do regarding the payment. Sometimes they pitch a fit - but in the end just accept the check. My little way of being a jerk with banks and financial institutions in general. IMHO a $ is a $.

BTW be sure you get a "recorded release" from them in a "reasonable period of time" - that should be another fun project.

 

[Yossarian]

Chase requirements are typical in the industry. Check your statements. There's usually a telephone number to call if you want to payoff the mortgage. They will give you instructions and they may also require a small payoff fee ($15 in my case six years ago). That's all you had to do to avoid this hassle. It's not worth wasting one more minute, just do what they say.

As I mentioned, that's what I did, but the rep who gave me a payoff amount said I could just send them a check. So now, despite the fact I just sent them a 6 figure check, I have technically just missed a mortgage payment, have to re-route the funds from my investment account to a local bank, then leave work to wait in line to get this processed, then remail it, etc. It's just asinine.

I think I am going to pay it down to a minimum through the normal payment channel and so that the next bill for regular amortization will pay off the balance.

 

[W2R]

Were you paying them to hold for taxes and insurance If so.. that is what you got back..

Maybe so (though from the paperwork I thought they had taken that into account). Truthfully, it didn't really bother me since I had the money. Actually I enjoyed being paid by the mortgage company that month instead of the reverse.

 

[Walt34]

The one time I paid off a mortgage I just sent them a check. I didn't bother to do the day-to-day interest calculation and they sent me back a check for $3 and change.

However, it took them more than six months to do the paperwork on the lien release. The mortgage had just been sold to another bank and the nice lady I talked to said it was probably in a box in the hallway. That was nice to know.

 

[TromboneAl]

pay it down to 1 dollar then and let them continue to service it...make sure you stop your bank debit for the payment so that they have to send you a statement every month

I agree that you should really do this. Then, if they still insist on a guaranteed check, etc., you "Sure, but just so you know, I'm contacting several news organizations, since this would make a great story. How do you spell your name?"

 

[Maurice]

This is a very useful thread, I'll be paying off my mortgage in July (maybe August). I'll probably write a personal check to get the balance down to a couple of hundred dollars, then call them and see what hoops I need to jump through for the last bit, when the interest riding on it will be negligible.

 

[2good]

Flagstar Bank requested certified check when paying off my mortgage. I just send them the money via the AutoPay feature from my checking account (different bank). The accepted the money without problems.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Deposited a cashiers check from Chase Bank into our Chase Bank checking account when we refinanced. Got a letter a few days later from Chase Bank saying they were freezing the funds for a week in case the check (that they issued) was a forgery....

 

[REWahoo]

Hey, these days you can't be too careful...