Answers for Homeowners with Freddie Mac Loans Previously Serviced by Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (Updated September 3, 2009)
August 20,
2009
Contact:
corprel@freddiemac.com
or (703) 903-3933
My loan is with Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW) and they have closed. What should I do?
Freddie Mac has arranged for several servicing companies to work directly with homeowners who had TBW-serviced mortgages. The new servicers have sent letters to homeowners with instructions for contacting them and making your monthly mortgage payments. In some cases, the new servicers have also made welcome phone calls.
Which Freddie Mac Servicers are assuming responsibility for servicing TBW mortgages?
Freddie Mac has arranged for Cenlar FSB (1-866-430-9689), Saxon Mortgage Services (1-888-422-6451) and Ocwen Loan Servicing (1-800-74-OCWEN) to assume responsibility for servicing Freddie Mac mortgages that were transferred from TBW.
How will I know which of the new Freddie Mac servicer will start servicing my mortgage?
You should have received – or will shortly receive – an official welcome letter from your new Freddie Mac servicer. In some cases, you may have already received a welcome phone call from your new Freddie Mac servicer. The official welcome letter will include contact information for your new Freddie Mac servicer and the address where you should begin sending your payments and any required documentation.
What should I do if I received a welcome letter from Cenlar FSB and RoundPoint Mortgage Company?
We are aware that there was a small group of borrowers who received welcome letters from both RoundPoint and one of the servicers acting on behalf of Freddie Mac, Cenlar FSB.
It is our understanding that RoundPoint is acting as a servicer for FDIC (in its capacity as Receiver for Colonial Bank) for a portfolio of loans that had previously been serviced for Colonial Bank by TBW.
Freddie Mac and the FDIC have a current agreement that Cenlar – not RoundPoint – will continue servicing these loans. You will be getting a letter shortly from RoundPoint and Cenlar explaining that going forward your loan will be serviced by Freddie Mac's servicer, Cenlar FSB. You should therefore begin making your mortgage payments to Cenlar as directed in its welcome letter.
If you have questions about the servicing of your mortgage, please contact Cenlar directly (1-866-430-9689). Cenlar has added additional staff to its call center and expanded the hours of its call center to take calls until 8:00pm (eastern) Monday-Friday with coverage on Saturdays from 9:00am to 4:00pm and on Sundays from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. These extended hours and the weekend coverage will be in effect through October 3, 2009.
I haven't received a welcome letter, but had a loan with TBW. What should I do?
If you have not received a welcome letter from Cenlar, Ocwen or Saxon, you may not have a Freddie Mac owned mortgage. Go to Freddie Mac's easy-to-use look up tool to help you determine if we own your mortgage. (On Freddie Mac's home page, www.freddiemac.com, there is a link to the "Self Service Lookup" under the question "Does Freddie Mac Own Your Mortgage?".) If we do own your loan, contact 1 800 FREDDIE if you continue to have issues identifying your servicer.
How do I know if Freddie Mac owns my mortgage?
Freddie Mac has created an easy-to-use lookup tool to help you determine if we own your mortgage. (On Freddie Mac's home page, www.freddiemac.com, there is a link to the "Self Service Lookup" under the question "Does Freddie Mac Own Your Mortgage?".)
Mortgage Payment & Escrows
I already sent my mortgage payment to TBW. Will it be accounted for correctly?
Freddie Mac has instructed your new Freddie Mac Servicer to properly account for all payments made to TBW. All Freddie Mac Servicers are aware that they should not assess a late fee or report a negative assessment to your credit report as a result of the transition. In the unlikely event that your payment was not properly applied to your mortgage balance during the transition or you discover an error with your payment history, immediately contact your new Freddie Mac Servicer. We have instructed them to work with you to resolve any issues that occurred during the transition period, including waiving late charges when applicable and making appropriate adjustments to payment and credit records.
My August mortgage payment to TBW, which is automatically deducted from my deposit account via an ACH debit every month, was not processed. What should I do?
During the transition of the servicing of your loan from TBW to a Freddie Mac servicer, the automatic ACH debit for the period August 2009 was not drafted from your account. However, please be aware that the mortgage payment for the period August 2009 will be drafted from your account in due course once the servicing transition is complete. Going forward, beginning September 2009, your mortgage payments will be automatically drafted from your account each month on the day you previously selected.
I sent my payment to a servicer other than my new Freddie Mac servicer. What will happen to my payment?
Arrangements have been made to address these issues. Servicers involved in the transfer of loans TBW was servicing have agreed to forward any payment to the appropriate servicer. Please contact your new servicer to alert the new servicer to this issue.
My escrow account was held by TBW. Will my insurance premiums and taxes be paid?
All Freddie Mac Servicers have been instructed to make all payments requested in relationship to escrow accounts. Contact your new servicer if you have a specific concern.
Loan Modification Questions
TBW was processing my application for a loan modification under the Making Home Affordable plan. What should I do?
Freddie Mac and the entities who are servicing mortgages on our behalf are dedicated to helping you keep your home if possible. Please work directly with your new mortgage servicer to find the option that's best for you. Additionally, if you received a letter from Home Retention Services regarding a loan modification of your TBW-serviced mortgage, please continue working directly with Home Retention Services on this process.
Will my new servicer honor all previous modification agreements I had with TBW?
Freddie Mac has instructed all servicers to honor all TBW commitments. Borrowers should provide written documentation of any agreement to their new servicer.
Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.
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