Spending nearly 20 years as a Real Estate Servicer, when I tell people what I do for a living, I get that ‘deer in the headlights’ look. It is not common for a small, community financial institution to service their own mortgage loans so people don’t usually understand the role of a Real Estate Servicer. I am hoping I can shed some light on the subject and bring a better understanding of what my team and I do for our members here at Dakotaland Federal Credit Union.
When you get a mortgage loan at the credit union, the process is managed by our Mortgage Lending Department, but once the loan is closed, it is handed off to the Servicing Department for the life of the loan. At the point the loan documents are signed, and you become a homeowner, the next step is to begin paying for your new home. If you have chosen to make automatic payments, the Servicing Department ensures those payments are set up correctly. If you are paying your mortgage payment with coupons, we will distribute the coupons to you before your first payment. You also have the option to pay online via online banking if you wish. During the life of your loan, if you choose to change how you are making your payment, we are happy to make those adjustments for you as well.
Every year we must reanalyze your mortgage payment to allow for any changes in the amount of the taxes and insurance amounts we are paying out of your escrow account. An escrow account is tied to your mortgage loan. Every month a portion of your payment goes into that account and the money is held to pay items like hazard insurance premium, flood insurance premium, property taxes and private mortgage insurance. If you have an escrow account, you will get disclosures once a year from my department outlining any changes or adjustments you can expect to see going forward.
Having a local servicer to discuss the details of your escrow account is a definite advantage. We have experienced staff to explain the disclosures making it easier for our members to understand. Escrows are where our help is most often needed. The good news is, we are only a phone call away or you can welcome to stop by for immediate assistance.
Another area where we can assist our members is with private mortgage insurance (PMI). This is coverage you may be required to have in place at the time you get your loan if in fact you are over 80% loan to value on your home loan. Whether coverage must be extended or eventually discontinued, the Servicing Department is here to help with that process as well.
Another service we provide is maintaining current homeowners’ insurance files for your mortgage loan. Ensuring your home is properly insured is critical. In the event there is damage to your property no one wants to be surprised to find out it isn’t fully covered.
Most importantly, you have a local team of experienced staff available to help you with any questions you may have or help you might need for the life of your loan. We take pride in getting answers for our members as quickly as possible and if there is an error, you can rest assured it will be fixed in a timely manner. We want the homeownership experience to be the best it can be, and we look forward to being there for our members every step of the way!
