I've been paying on my principal heavily every month for a while
in an effort to get the thing paid off, and will do so in a few
months. I've read about "payoff statements" on CitiMortgage's
Website (they are currently handling my mortgage) and such, but
do I actually need to bother with such a thing? Can't I just
keep chipping away monthly till the balance is zero? Also, what
papers and documents should they send me when the mortgage is
paid in full? What all is required to provide absolute proof
of ownership? Is the deed akin to the title an owner has for
car ownership? From what I've read, the deed simply *changes*
ownership.

BTW, if it makes any difference, this was a 15-year mortgage and
I'll pay it off in six, and there were never any prepayment penalties
or things like that connected with it.

Sorry if these all sound like dumb questions, but even though
I'm 48 years old, this was my first mortgage as I traveled around
the world a lot in my younger years, due to my work. And I have
talked to several of Citi's phone people, but don't always have
a lot of confidence in what I'm told, for various reasons.
Today, I talked to an Indian (in India) when I called their
customer service #. Thanks a bunch.

--
Otis

In article .com,
wrote:
I've been paying on my principal heavily every month for a while
in an effort to get the thing paid off, and will do so in a few
months. I've read about "payoff statements" on CitiMortgage's
Website (they are currently handling my mortgage) and such, but
do I actually need to bother with such a thing? Can't I just
keep chipping away monthly till the balance is zero? Also, what
papers and documents should they send me when the mortgage is
paid in full? What all is required to provide absolute proof
of ownership? Is the deed akin to the title an owner has for
car ownership? From what I've read, the deed simply *changes*
ownership.

No problem. My mortgage company wanted to sell me an expensive "payoff
statement" and I just said no thanks and did exactly what you describe.

When the balance was reduced to below a normal payment, they sent the
next statement with a notation that $xx.xx would pay off the mortgage in
full if paid on or before the due date.

You will get a "satisfaction of mortgage" document and probably some
others. You (or more likely them) will file the satisfaction with your
local registrar of deeds. Contact your insurance broker/carrier to
remove the mortgage holder from your policy. It will probably take
several months to get all the paperwork. Save it with the deed which
you should already have. In a fireproof safe at a minimum. A bank safe
deposit box is even better.

--
Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

In article ,
(Rich Greenberg) wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:
I've been paying on my principal heavily every month for a while
in an effort to get the thing paid off, and will do so in a few
months. I've read about "payoff statements" on CitiMortgage's
Website (they are currently handling my mortgage) and such, but
do I actually need to bother with such a thing? Can't I just
keep chipping away monthly till the balance is zero? Also, what
papers and documents should they send me when the mortgage is
paid in full? What all is required to provide absolute proof
of ownership? Is the deed akin to the title an owner has for
car ownership? From what I've read, the deed simply *changes*
ownership.

No problem. My mortgage company wanted to sell me an expensive "payoff
statement" and I just said no thanks and did exactly what you describe.

That is a great scam, and a new one on me. Charge you for
a payoff statement. Ha-ha!

You should be able to ask for a payoff amount. They will
normally give you one that is good until a particular date.
In some cases, like Washington Mutual (which is otherwise
good to deal with), they lie about the payoff amount. Their
deal is to short you incase something doesn't clear, and then
you have to fight them to get a refund. In my case, they
withheld the last 2 payments off of the payoff, making me
overpay $1500.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

Rich Greenberg wrote:

No problem. My mortgage company wanted to sell me an expensive
"payoff
statement" and I just said no thanks and did exactly what you
describe.

When the balance was reduced to below a normal payment, they sent the
next statement with a notation that $xx.xx would pay off the mortgage
in
full if paid on or before the due date.

You will get a "satisfaction of mortgage" document and probably some
others. You (or more likely them) will file the satisfaction with
your
local registrar of deeds. Contact your insurance broker/carrier to
remove the mortgage holder from your policy. It will probably take
several months to get all the paperwork. Save it with the deed which
you should already have. In a fireproof safe at a minimum. A bank
safe
deposit box is even better.

I don't have the deed, AFAIK. Is that important? Do you think I'll
get
it with the other documents when I pay off the loan?

As far as the payoff (last payment), did you pay in your usual way?
The CitiMortgage site states that payoff funds must be either wired,
or Cashiers Check, etc., and that personal checks will be returned.
This doesn't make much sense to me. Anyway, I myself have always paid
by automatic draft, but I have canceled that, and plan to pay with
what is, in effect, an e-check from now on. Thanks!

-
Otis

In article . com,
wrote:

I don't have the deed, AFAIK. Is that important? Do you think I'll
get
it with the other documents when I pay off the loan?

That depends on customs that vary in different parts of the
US. Here in the midwest, it is traditional that your Title
and Abstract company holds the deed, even to paid off houses.
The issue is that people are prone to losing them or having
some natural disaster destroy their deeds. The Abstract
company keeps them in secure storage facilities so you have
little or no chance of losing it.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

The only important thing about a Deed, is whether or not the original has
been recorded in the local public records. The Deed could burn , and it
would make no difference whatsoever IF it has been recorded. The same rule
applies to the Satifaction of Mortgage. The important point is that you
assure that it has been recorded when you get it. If it has been, you will
see the recording information somewhere on the document itself.

Go to your local Court Clerk. Tell them the year that you first got your
property (Deed), and ask them to look it up for you, or show you how to do
it. Once it is located, you can get a certified copy, which will show when
it was recorded. While you are there, learn how to record and/or verify the
recording of your Satisfaction of Mortgage.

Good luck


--James--

In article . com,
wrote:

I don't have the deed, AFAIK. Is that important? Do you think I'll
get
it with the other documents when I pay off the loan?

You should have gotten it in the mail soon after the closing. The
closing atty sends it to the local registrar of deeds who stamps it and
records it in thier records. Perhaps in your area its not returned
until the mortgage is satisfied.

Check your closing paperwork and call the closing atty. Ask him/her
about the deed. If they are out of business, call your local registrar
of deeds which is usually part of the county clerk's office although
this will vary from place to place.

As far as the payoff (last payment), did you pay in your usual way?
The CitiMortgage site states that payoff funds must be either wired,
or Cashiers Check, etc., and that personal checks will be returned.
This doesn't make much sense to me. Anyway, I myself have always paid
by automatic draft, but I have canceled that, and plan to pay with
what is, in effect, an e-check from now on. Thanks!

Exactly what I did. As a guess, Citi does this to make sure they have
good funds before releasing thier lein on the property.

--
Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

James wrote:
The only important thing about a Deed, is whether or not the original
has
been recorded in the local public records. The Deed could burn ,
and it
would make no difference whatsoever IF it has been recorded. The
same rule
applies to the Satifaction of Mortgage. The important point is that
you
assure that it has been recorded when you get it. If it has been,
you will
see the recording information somewhere on the document itself.

Go to your local Court Clerk. Tell them the year that you first got
your
property (Deed), and ask them to look it up for you, or show you how
to do
it. Once it is located, you can get a certified copy, which will
show when
it was recorded. While you are there, learn how to record and/or
verify the
recording of your Satisfaction of Mortgage.

Good luck


Thanks guys!

--
Otis

On 4 Mar 2005 17:15:06 -0800, wrote:


Rich Greenberg wrote:

No problem. My mortgage company wanted to sell me an expensive
"payoff
statement" and I just said no thanks and did exactly what you
describe.

When the balance was reduced to below a normal payment, they sent the
next statement with a notation that $xx.xx would pay off the mortgage
in
full if paid on or before the due date.

You will get a "satisfaction of mortgage" document and probably some
others. You (or more likely them) will file the satisfaction with
your
local registrar of deeds. Contact your insurance broker/carrier to
remove the mortgage holder from your policy. It will probably take
several months to get all the paperwork. Save it with the deed which
you should already have. In a fireproof safe at a minimum. A bank
safe
deposit box is even better.

I don't have the deed, AFAIK. Is that important? Do you think I'll
get
it with the other documents when I pay off the loan?

As far as the payoff (last payment), did you pay in your usual way?
The CitiMortgage site states that payoff funds must be either wired,
or Cashiers Check, etc., and that personal checks will be returned.
This doesn't make much sense to me. Anyway, I myself have always paid
by automatic draft, but I have canceled that, and plan to pay with
what is, in effect, an e-check from now on. Thanks!

They are thinking in terms of a payoff when you sell the house...if
you are sending in a check for $125,000, they want something more
secure than the usual..grin. I don't think they will balk too much at
a final check for $89.95 or whatever.

That's also why they sell a "payoff statement" you need it for the
finance company to process the payment when the house closes since
there might be prepayment penalities, escrowed taxe, pre-paid
insurance etc.

Remember, very few people actually pay off their mortgage the normal
way so everything you may be told by the bank is geared towards big
payoffs when property is sold.

You should have gotten a Deed of Trust or something I would think,
depending on the stae inw hichy ou live..unless you got royally
shafted int he terms and you don't have title to your house until you
pay it off...which could be nasty as that would allow much faster
foreclosure as you might not actually be the owner of the
property...better check on this and maybe talk to a real estate lawyer
to be sure you're not someplace you don't want to be.

A trip to your county registrar might be in order to check the deed
status on your place...that's public info and you need to see who's
name is recordeds on that thing.

Good fortune to you on paying off your debt...enjoy that first month
when you don't have to send in a mortgage payment, that is real
freedom and the goal of most homeowners.


Jim P.

On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 20:08:18 +0000 (UTC), someone wrote:

...Save it with the deed which
you should already have. In a fireproof safe at a minimum. A bank safe
deposit box is even better.

Absolutely unnecessary to save these in a fireproof box or safe
deposit. The only ones that count are what has already been recorded
in the registry of deeds. There is just about NO legal use for the
original mortage document OR deed. You might keep a copy around so
that you know the book, page, dates etc. to help anyone needing to
search title not start from scratch, but that is just a convenience.

Do you think you no longer own the property if you can't find the
original? Do you think that having it means you own it? (Nope, when
you sell the property to the next guy, NOBODY comes to your safe
deposit box and seizes your old deed - its just that, and old deed.)

I hear people recite this advice all the time - but tell me, what do
you really think you need that precious paper for? It has LESS
significance than a car 'Title".


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 15:49:48 +0000 (UTC), someone wrote:

You should have gotten it in the mail soon after the closing. The
closing atty sends it to the local registrar of deeds who stamps it and
records it in thier records. Perhaps in your area its not returned
until the mortgage is satisfied.

His area may use a "Deed of Trust".


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

On 4 Mar 2005 11:21:42 -0800, someone wrote:

I've been paying on my principal heavily every month for a while
in an effort to get the thing paid off, and will do so in a few
months. I've read about "payoff statements" on CitiMortgage's
Website (they are currently handling my mortgage) and such, but
do I actually need to bother with such a thing? Can't I just
keep chipping away monthly till the balance is zero? Also, what
papers and documents should they send me when the mortgage is
paid in full?

A "payoff statement" is for when somebody wants to pay a substantial
balance all at once in a lump, as in they are selling the house or
refinancing with a different lender.

In your case, just keep whittling away until it is gone.

Then they have to send you a Satisfaction & Discharge, often just
called a "Sat", like call them the month after its paid off and shows
as such on your statement and ask "when am I going to get my Sat".

AFAIK it is pretty universal in the US that there is an obligation to
issue the Sat. Whether they have to record it for you varies; if its
not recorded yet, go down to the county office and do it yourself.


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.