So Much . . .

Our basement bathroom re-model was finished last week. Point of the story: I am so far behind on tracking our changes. I need to start budgeting time for this.

My Email Exchange with the New Mortgage Servicer

Me:
I recently received a letter from your company informing me that you will be taking over the servicing of my mortgage. I have read through the enclosed materials and would like clarification on one point. You included the "Frequently Asked Questions About the Servicing Change" sheet in my letter. It states, "Your payment due date has not changed. Your payment is due in our processing center on or before the due date. It is considered late the following day." When we originally received our mortgage we were told our monthly payment was due on or before the 15th of each month. However, when we got the paperwork, the due date was listed as the 1st of each month. When I inquired about this I was told even though the technical due date was the 1st I would have until the 15th to pay and there would be no late fee for doing so. For over a year now I have paid my mortgage by the 15th of each month. However, reading your letter would lead me to believe this is no longer possible. It sounds like having recently made a payment on November 12th, I would now be required to make another full payment by December 1st. Is this correct? Thank you for your assistance on this matter.

Them:
Re: Loan Number - not provided
Dear Customer:
This is to acknowledge your recent email. We regret that we are unable to process your request at this time as one of the following item(s) #1, 2, 5, 6 are missing from your communication:
1. Last 4 digits of your Social Security Number
2. Loan Number
3. Customer Name
4. Subject Matter
5. Property Address
6. Current Mailing Address
Please resubmit your request including the missing item(s) and we will be happy to expedite your request. Current account information can be viewed via our website.
Thank you for giving us an opportunity to be of service to you. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Customer Service Department

Me:

I wasn't clear from your email if you needed answers to all four of the missing items, so I supplied answers to all of them.

Them:
Dear Customer:
Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your loan. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate your account under the information you have provided. Please contact the customer service number on the letter for further assistance.Thank you for cooperation.Sincerely,
Customer Service Department

One of the more irritating aspects of this is their insistance on addressing me as "Customer." I do have a name and I did close all of my emails with my name. But I did take their advice and call the number on the letter. I started hitting 0 as soon as the automated options started and eventually was told I was being transferred to the next available rep. The end result of everything is the December payment won't be considered late whenever it comes in. All future payments have to be received by the 16th of the month. So I'm feeling better, but I'll miss the pay online option the previous servicer offered.

The Beginning

We've been in our house for a little over a year now and every time we do something to the house I think about starting a blog--in part to vent and in part to share what we've learned. Earlier this week we received a letter from our new mortgage servicer and I guess that was the last straw. So now I've started this and I'll be writing about all the wonderful aspects of homeownership. More later.