How to find old mortgage loan records? This homeowner wants to find proof of old mortgage payments made before they refinanced and modified their loan.
Q: I purchased my home back in 2004 and got a mortgage with a lender that has since been purchased by one of the huge banks. I made all of my payments owed to the original lender and then also made extra payments on the loan.
In 2005, I lost my job, filed for bankruptcy and refinanced my loan with the original lender. They refinanced us with an adjustable rate loan that was then sold off to the bank that wound up buying them. Several years later, I was finally able to get a loan modification.
Our mortgage is now serviced by a different loan servicer. This servicer only has records going back to 2005 and not 2004. How would I prove the payments I made against the loan back in 2004? I was told by the banks that I should shred all old documents as they are no longer valid. I did that. So, what are my options now?
What to Do When Mortgage Loan Records Are Lost
A: The issues of what happens when records are lost is an important one. Let’s start with the questions on keeping old records. We’ve frequently told our readers that they can toss out their financial records after seven years. Even so, there are some records you should keep forever, including certain financial documents, deeds to property, stock certificates, and others.
So, don’t just toss all boxes dated from the year 2011 or before. Instead, go through the box and see if there’s anything important in there. Given today’s technology, you can easily scan any documents and keep an electronic copy. Again, original stock certificates, original title documents to cars and boats and items like that should be kept forever.
Calculating Mortgage Loan Payments, Prepayments and Credits When Refinancing
Onto your loan: It appears that when you refinanced your loan in 2005, the outstanding principal balance of your loan was set at that time. Before you signed the documents, the lender should have tallied your payments, prepayments and any other credits to your account at that time. You should have checked those numbers and made sure they reflected the reality of your payments. That way, when you refinanced, the amount of the refinance was the principal balance amount you actually owed. If a mistake was made prior to the refinance, it would be almost impossible to prove now.
When you received your loan modification several years later, that loan modification would have stated the principal amount that you owed on the loan as of the day of the loan modification. We think that when you signed the loan modification documents, you agreed to the terms of the loan modification and to the amount that the bank set in the documents as the loan amount outstanding. Again, if that number didn’t jive with what you knew to be true, you should have called it to the lender’s attention then.
Now, 15 years later, you want to check to see if you were given credit for payments and pre-payments you made on the original loans. Really? What have you been doing for the past 15 years?
Can You Find Mortgage Loan Records From 15 Years Ago?
We don’t think you’re going to get anywhere. Even if you have all of your payments and records, it’s possible that the refinancing and loan modification would supersede those records as you agreed to those amounts at that time. We wonder whether you could even prove that the lenders committed fraud against you (which is what we suspect you’re thinking) and whether you waited too long to make that claim.
It’s true that during the Great Recession, some of the biggest lenders didn’t always do the right thing by their borrowers. Some made grave errors and put homes into foreclosure when the owners had made every payment on time.
And yet, we’re not hearing you accuse them of failing to properly credit your account each time you refinanced or modified your loan. We have to assume their computer systems did credit your loan account appropriately and that the amount of the refinancing and loan modification was right.
Confirm All Mortgage Payments Are Credited Before Refinancing or Modifying Your Loan
If you suspected something was amiss, the time to complain would have been before you refinanced or modified your loan. Without having the records in hand, you’ll have a heck of a time trying to calculate the numbers and frankly, can’t ever imagine how you’d figure out if you were credited the right amount 15 years ago.
You’d probably have to spend money to see if your bank has records going back that far and then pay someone to help reconstruct your payment history. And for what? It’s unlikely that you’ll find thousands of dollars weren’t applied correctly.
At the end of the day, this feels like a wild goose chase. But, if you decide to continue, please let us know what happens. Good luck!
More on Mortgage Loans, Payments and Record Keeping
Can You Change Your Mortgage Loan Servicer?
Should I Get the Promissory Note After Paying Off My Mortgage?
Managing Mortgage Payments in Retirement
Why Aren’t My Mortgage Payments Being Reported After Bankruptcy?
Choices With Reverse Mortgage Payments
With an Underwater Mortgage, This Senior Homeowner is Desperate for Help
Is Refinancing Your 30-Year Mortgage Really a Good Decision
HOW CAN I FIND MY HOME PURCHASE PAPERWORK (NEED THE TITLE COMPANY) FROM 1999?
i need to find a ny jda loan made in 2005 to see if paid off
This question was not answered in my opinion… and there are statues of limitations on matters such as these…my state has such as should all of them…they cannot go after a person for a 15 year situation…this reads like the HSBC: Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation matters (Beneficial) along with their co-hort JP Morgan: Select Portfolio Servicing…any Miguel’s scam come in to America or is in it and take from us at very little cost to the Miguel’s
I like your comment, I am caught up in the Chase/ Select Portfolio what seems to be a cohort scam. From Washington Mutural to Chase sold my loan to Select P. 4 years ago and my principal balance has not changed considerably over the last 18 years with them all. I feel I’m falling into an owners bottomless pit.
want to pay off brother’s mortgage without his knowledge Also sister’s, living in the Springs
That’s interesting, Jeff, and a lovely gesture. The mortgage companies won’t speak to you, but I think can do this in a number of ways. I’m going to check on a few things and will be back with some thoughts shortly.
Standby…
I discharged a Home mortgage loan in 1988 an for CGT I need a copy, can this be done
Why are people asking questions here when Ilyce couldn’t even properly answer an important question?
my daughter passed without a trust or will. Her son (my grandson) said he was on the mortgage and I am trying to pay it off but the mortgage co. said he is not on the mortgage and is giving me nothing but a hassle and says I can’t pay off the loan because I am not authorized, The loan was originated by the old Countrywide and bought and sold since. All letters come to the house with both names on them. My son took them to the closing and he said they both went into the room for the closing because she could not qualify and needed him for his income to close, I have produced the death certificate and an authorization letter from my grandson for me to act in his behalf because he is confined to a wheelchair and can’t move his body easily. I believe somewhere along the line someone committed an error and dropped his name off the records but why is his name on all correspondence from them if he wasn’t on the loan? Nothing was probated and now in Detroit area it will take a couple years for Probate. Short of a court order what else can we do?
Charles:
You should confer with a real estate attorney or estate attorney who can contact the mortgage servicing company. Typically, heirs are able to take over the mortgage. I’d be surprised if he can’t. Also, if wouldn’t have been able to sign the mortgage docs without being an owner of the property (that’s typically how it happens). Is there any paperwork he can provide? What about at your daughter’s house?
Let me know how that goes. If it doesn’t, I’ll try to give you some additional guidance. You can always move up the food chain at the mortgage company if you’re not getting the right kind of help.
Ilyce
Hi, I am not sure if you will get this message but here it is. I purchased a home in 2009. for 370k… I put a down payment of $57,888. sold the house in 2015 for $410k.For 6 years I was paying $2500 a month. I was on auto pay and had $100,000 more put into my mortgage. A total of $157,888 but I notice just 3 months ago that my down payment was used to credit my loan payoff, and nothing about 6years of payments has been credited for selling the house. I am trying to trace my steps with the title company to help me understand my recollections, but they claim they no longer have the file. Can you help me, tell me how to trace my files from 2009 to 2015? And where do I go from here?
Josefina, do you have your loan payoff paperwork? You should have had records of what was paid and how the loan was reduced. Reading over your email, your down payment should have reduced the mortgage amount. How much depends on how high your interest rate was at the time.
At this point, you’d probably need someone to help you review those statements, to make sure your money was credited appropriately. It’s been 8 years, so I understand why the paperwork isn’t readily available. Good luck.
Thank you for your information. I do have the loan payoff that is how I discovered there was a mistake. I have to rediscover what may have happened in the past when I was in a dark place. I will need to sought all things that is bothering me financially. I am grateful to be able to speak to you with this issue in my head.
im trying to get some old loan paperwork to see when we paid off credit cards
any help would be appreccaited
NEED MY DOCUMENTS ALL FOR MORTGAGE BACK TO 1998!! WHEN DOCUMENTS WE SIGNED!!!!
Robin,
You need to give me a little more detail here or I won’t be able to provide any helpful information. Thanks.
Zombie loan appeared after 14 years now they’re trying to get me to pay for a $55,000 loan they want me to pay $100 and 11,000 but I have bank statement showing that I made payments what do I do
Kevin,
Fight back. You’ve got the documentation. Keep pushing back. They may not even be able to collect after so many years. It’s likely they cannot.
What should a bank have when they’ve purchased another bank? ie JP Morgan thru FDIC purchases WaMu and 9yrs later they’ve inserted themselves into a deed of trust and assigns another bank who in turn starts the foreclosure procedures. Shouldn’t JP Morgan have some evidence of the loan and what’ been paid? Actually the original loan was executed in 2005 and was transferred over to another couple in 2010. If the original trustor has signed over the deed why would JP Morgan include the original owner as the trustor in 2023. What is the statute of limitations when this document Assignment of DOT is allegedly signed in 10/23/2019 but recorded in 2023?
Sounds complicated. Have you asked for documentation? Assuming this is yours, do you have your original closing docs?