# Stop mortgage from being sold to evil company. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439 "2013-05-27T01:45:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/1 "2013-05-27T01:45:31Z")
Don’t need answer fast because this isn’t actually happening (at least not to me.) It is, of course, perfectly legal for your mortgage holder to sell your mortgage to another company. But suppose you got notice that your mortgage was being sold to a company that you consider to be unethical. To use a fictitious name, say someone’s mortgage is being sold to Hell’s Cargo. Hell’s Cargo has long and ongoing history of shady practices, like: \*Foreclosing on a home that never even had a mortgage and disposing of or destroying all the owner’s personal belongings. \*Foreclosing on a home even though all payments were made not only on time, but early. among other things. Does a homeowner have any recourse to keep from being forced to do business with a company they find abhorrent? ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/2 "2013-05-27T01:48:54Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Don’t need answer fast because this isn’t actually happening (at least not to me.) > > It is, of course, perfectly legal for your mortgage holder to sell your mortgage to another company. But suppose you got notice that your mortgage was being sold to a company that you consider to be unethical. To use a fictitious name, say someone’s mortgage is being sold to Hell’s Cargo. Hell’s Cargo has long and ongoing history of shady practices, like: > > \*Foreclosing on a home that never even had a mortgage and disposing of or destroying all the owner’s personal belongings. > > \*Foreclosing on a home even though all payments were made not only on time, but early. > > among other things. Does a homeowner have any recourse to keep from being forced to do business with a company they find abhorrent? Refinance the note with another bank you like. They’ll pay off the mortgagee you don’t like and you’ll be able to hope the new note doesn’t get sold too. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/3 "2013-05-27T02:28:14Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Refinance the note with another bank you like. They’ll pay off the mortgagee you don’t like and you’ll be able to hope the new note doesn’t get sold too. Refinancing may not be an option for a lot of people. We had a heck of a time refinancing our first home, which had a balloon payment after five years. The problem was that the principal was low enough that no lenders wanted to write mortgages for that small an amount, but too large for us to qualify for any kind of personal loan. But anyway, the question isn’t what can the homeowner do after the fact. It’s can the homeowner prevent it from happening in the first place? If I understand correctly, the mortgage holder has to notify the homeowner fifteen days in advance. So is there anything the homeowner can do between that notice and the transfer of the mortgage? And to be clear, I’m not talking about preventing the note from being sold _at all_, just to one particular company **without** having to go through the time (which would surely take more than fifteen days) and expense of refinancing. I suspect the short answer may be “no”, which I don’t like, but only has a small chance of ever affecting me personally. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/4 "2013-05-27T02:49:04Z")
You probably signed something in the mountain of mortgage papers you had to sign that says “Yes I agree that my mortgage company can sell my mortgage to any other company at any time, regardless of their evilness.” I actually tried to read some of the stuff I signed with my original mortgage and I’m pretty sure that sort of thing was in there. I also refinanced shortly after I got sold to Bank of America (at a cost, of course). ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/5 "2013-05-27T02:51:01Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > \*Foreclosing on a home that never even had a mortgage and disposing of or destroying all the owner’s personal belongings. > > \*Foreclosing on a home even though all payments were made not only on time, but early. Huh? Does this actually happen?? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/6 "2013-05-27T03:05:54Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Huh? Does this actually happen?? > > 😕 > **[Owners Lose Possessions After Home Near Twentynine Palms Is Mistakenly...](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/owners-lose-possessions-after-home-near-twentynine-palms-is-mistakenly-foreclosed/)** > > The owners of a modest home near Twentynine Palms lost their cherished possessions after a bank mistakenly foreclosed their residence. > **[Man Foreclosed On Despite Paying Early, And In Excess](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/etienne-syldor-orlando-foreclosure-paid-early_n_3336482)** > > Man Foreclosed On Despite Paying Early, And In Excess ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/7 "2013-05-27T03:35:46Z")
This is the first I’ve ever heard that the homeowner even has to be informed at all, when your bank sells your mortgage to someone else. Typically, the original bank continues to service the loan (that is, you continue to make payments to the original bank), and the owner doesn’t even necessarily know that the original bank is no longer the mortgage holder. Amirong? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/8 "2013-05-27T03:45:57Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This is the first I’ve ever heard that the homeowner even has to be informed at all, when your bank sells your mortgage to someone else. Typically, the original bank continues to service the loan (that is, you continue to make payments to the original bank), and the owner doesn’t even necessarily know that the original bank is no longer the mortgage holder. > > Amirong? We were notified when ours was sold to a not-evil-as-far-as-I-know company and we now make our payments to the new company. [This](http://www.realtor.com/home-finance/homebuyer-information/what-happens-when-your-mortgage-is-sold.aspx) was my source of info for the fifteen days notice requirement. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/9 "2013-05-27T03:50:22Z")
When my current mortgage was sold, the original company continued to service it. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/10 "2013-05-27T05:39:19Z")
[“Successors and assigns” clauses are standard.](http://www.contractstandards.com/contract-structure/general-provisions/successors-and-assigns-1) Just FYI, the note that obliges you to pay back the loan and the mortgage that secures the note are separate documents. Before MERS, you probably didn’t need to know this. Now, it might be a good idea. [Nolo.com](http://Nolo.com), a well-known self-help legal web site has good but succinct [summary](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-is-mers.html). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/11 "2013-05-27T12:57:52Z")
I don’t think there’s a way to prevent it, but I’ll say this- “Hell’s Cargo” as you call them, has actually been terrific to deal with about our mortgage. Great website, clear and easy to deal with online tools, automatic bill pay, no closing costs refinancing, etc… much better than the originating mortgage lender was from a consumer perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/12 "2013-05-27T19:05:36Z")
Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo. There. Was that so hard? ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/13 "2013-05-28T04:10:17Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo. > > There. Was that so hard? Misses you already 😛 The loan on our AZ home was sold twice and by the time I got the notices, the deals were already done. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/14 "2013-05-28T11:53:50Z")
Has anyone tried to negotiate this as a deal? E.g., "I’ll pay an extra $100 a year if you agree not to sell the mortgage to any company on this list \ or sell it to any company without first getting promises equivalent to these out of them not to sell it to one of those companies and to require such terms out of anyone they sell it too. How much would such an agreement be worth? Would you have a better chance of getting a small town bank to agree to this? ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/15 "2013-05-28T12:11:24Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Has anyone tried to negotiate this as a deal? E.g., "I’ll pay an extra $100 a year if you agree not to sell the mortgage to any company on this list \ or sell it to any company without first getting promises equivalent to these out of them not to sell it to one of those companies and to require such terms out of anyone they sell it too. > > How much would such an agreement be worth? Would you have a better chance of getting a small town bank to agree to this? I don’t know the answer to your specific question, but my mortgage lender the first time around swore up and down that they wouldn’t sell my mortgage if I went with them. I don’t know why she said this, since I didn’t particularly care one way or the other. Of course, 30 days after closing, they did in fact sell my mortgage, but since they continued to service the mortgage, I really didn’t care. If I were to guess at an answer, I would say most banks, even small ones, don’t want extra strings attached and they are doing plenty of business whether you choose to get your mortgage there or not. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/16 "2013-05-28T12:19:22Z")
My mortgage is only 6 years old, and it’s been sold twice already, which was surprising to me. Luckily, no issues with the transfer and no problems with the lender. It does seem there should be some sort of consumer protection against this, though. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/17 "2013-05-28T13:25:42Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > It does seem there should be some sort of consumer protection against this, though. How are consumers being harmed when a mortgage is sold? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/18 "2013-05-28T13:50:31Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Has anyone tried to negotiate this as a deal? E.g., "I’ll pay an extra $100 a year if you agree not to sell the mortgage to any company on this list \ or sell it to any company without first getting promises equivalent to these out of them not to sell it to one of those companies and to require such terms out of anyone they sell it too. > > How much would such an agreement be worth? Would you have a better chance of getting a small town bank to agree to this? I suspect that it’s going to cost a lot more than a hundred bucks a year to change their processes just to satisfy your reluctance to do business with Wells Fargo. At the very least, they’re going to have to have an attorney, either on-staff or on retainer, review and approve the changes to the standard contract. These lawyers probably bill their time at more than a hundred bucks an hour. Second, they’re going to have to segregate your loan from every other loan they have, as the rest of their loans can be freely sold. There’s no way that they can easily do this. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/19 "2013-05-28T14:25:09Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > The loan on our AZ home was sold twice and by the time I got the notices, the deals were already done. Me too, a number of times, in MI and NC. > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Has anyone tried to negotiate this as a deal? E.g., "I’ll pay an extra $100 a year if you agree not to sell the mortgage to any company on this list \ or sell it to any company without first getting promises equivalent to these out of them not to sell it to one of those companies and to require such terms out of anyone they sell it too. Your chances are slim unless the bonus is really dramatic. It takes your loan out of the bundle and makes it an individual, with strings attached. Even doing something fairly normal like avoiding escrow for taxes etc puts you in a special category, and you won’t get the lowest rates (been there done that won’t do it again). ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439/20 "2013-05-28T14:36:57Z")
Mortgage company employee here. I can speak for other companies but I’m assuming it’s basically the same nationwide. We lock in loans to sell to another company pretty much as soon as you fill out an application. Changing locks is time consuming and will pretty much always cost money. It’s really only done if we can’t sell the loan for some reason or another to a certain company. Also, by the time you get a notice, it’s already been sold. I have had a few loan officers promise not to sell a loan to a specific place. It’s usually a gigantic headache, and they’re prohibited to do so now. Also, regarding Wells Fargo, they are the largest mortgage company in the country, so it’s not surprising they have negative stories. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-mortgage-from-being-sold-to-evil-company/659439.md?page=2)