I just finished dealing with a third party mortgage issue that I haven't seen before. I got a letter a while back from Altisource indicating that I still owed a balance of ~$500 for processing and transfer fees on a mortgage to a house. Well, the problem was I paid off the principle due by their pay-off notice, and sold the house more than 4 years ago. The new owner got a clear title, subject to their mortgage lien of course, and my name is no longer associated with the property.
The next letter I got was a warning that they were going to foreclose and seek penalties. I finally wrote back and told them the deal, and said they really should foreclose on me, because I don't own the property anymore. Oh by the way, you aren't getting any money from me either.
Well, after that the next letter changed tune a little bit, and said if I didn't pay up they were going to report my default to the credit agencies. I said go ahead, and I'll just contact them with my pay-off, and payment history, and the clear title issued by the title company to the new owners.
So, I contacted the new title policy holder for the new owners and during a phone consult we chatted about this, and I sent them a copy of the latest demand, and said they should look into it, because they were the title policy issuer. Of course, they didn't care a whit(typical title policy co) and it didn't affect their policy holder. So, I called back and said if I get dunned for this fee, I'm going to attach a lien to the new title, and then they will have to deal with it.
Finally, I sent the last letter to Altisource a few weeks ago warning them that false reporting of credit negatives is a federal crime, and that they could be liable for triple damages plus court costs if they pursue potentially damaging and erroneous credit info to an agency, and today I got their final demand which says that their records show I still owe the money, but they are not going to report it to the credit agencies, just that it will be marked in their 'system' as a default on loan and I may have trouble getting a mortgage in the future.
Be wary of anyone you've done business with in the past that sends you a demand letter, and by all means, save your transaction papers for 10 years. I didn't borrow from Altisource, but the people I did sold the note to them, and they are pretty horrible. Sadly, I had no choice in that loan pkg to deny them reselling the paper because the terms were really good at the time.
The next letter I got was a warning that they were going to foreclose and seek penalties. I finally wrote back and told them the deal, and said they really should foreclose on me, because I don't own the property anymore. Oh by the way, you aren't getting any money from me either.
Well, after that the next letter changed tune a little bit, and said if I didn't pay up they were going to report my default to the credit agencies. I said go ahead, and I'll just contact them with my pay-off, and payment history, and the clear title issued by the title company to the new owners.
So, I contacted the new title policy holder for the new owners and during a phone consult we chatted about this, and I sent them a copy of the latest demand, and said they should look into it, because they were the title policy issuer. Of course, they didn't care a whit(typical title policy co) and it didn't affect their policy holder. So, I called back and said if I get dunned for this fee, I'm going to attach a lien to the new title, and then they will have to deal with it.
Finally, I sent the last letter to Altisource a few weeks ago warning them that false reporting of credit negatives is a federal crime, and that they could be liable for triple damages plus court costs if they pursue potentially damaging and erroneous credit info to an agency, and today I got their final demand which says that their records show I still owe the money, but they are not going to report it to the credit agencies, just that it will be marked in their 'system' as a default on loan and I may have trouble getting a mortgage in the future.
Be wary of anyone you've done business with in the past that sends you a demand letter, and by all means, save your transaction papers for 10 years. I didn't borrow from Altisource, but the people I did sold the note to them, and they are pretty horrible. Sadly, I had no choice in that loan pkg to deny them reselling the paper because the terms were really good at the time.
