How to Find Out Who Owns Your Mortgage Loan

If you have a mortgage loan, it can sometimes be confusing to figure out who actually owns it. Many people mistakenly think their mortgage is owned by the company they make payments to each month. But in reality, most mortgages are originated by one company, serviced by a second company, and owned by an entirely different company. So how can you find out who owns your mortgage loan? Here are some tips.

Why Does It Matter Who Owns Your Mortgage?

Knowing who owns your mortgage is important for several reasons

If you ever need to apply for mortgage relief, like a forbearance or loan modification, you’ll need to contact the owner of the loan rather than your servicer Your servicer only handles collecting payments and customer service
If you want to refinance, you’ll need to know who owns the loan in order to get their approval.
The owner of the loan sets the rules, policies, and qualifying criteria for anything regarding your loan. Your servicer just follows their guidelines.
If your loan gets transferred to a new owner, you are legally entitled to get notifications about the change in ownership.

So taking the time to identify your mortgage owner can save you hassle and headaches down the road if you need to make any changes to your loan.

Your Servicer vs Your Mortgage Owner

Before going into how to identify your mortgage holder, it’s helpful to understand the difference between a mortgage servicer and a mortgage owner:

Servicer: The company you make monthly payments to and contact for account inquiries or issues. They handle collecting payments, customer service, and escrow accounts.
Owner: The entity that actually owns your loan. This is typically an investor or investment group that funded the loan. They set the rules and make decisions about modifications, refinancing, etc.

Your servicer services the loan on behalf of the owner. So the two are often completely different companies. The key is knowing which one holds the power over your loan. And that is the owner.

4 Ways to Find Out Who Owns Your Mortgage

Here are four ways to identify the owner of your mortgage loan:

1. Check Your Mortgage Statement

Your monthly mortgage statement or annual tax documents may state who the owner is somewhere in the fine print. It likely won’t be obvious, but carefully inspect your statements for any references to the “owner” or “investor” of the loan.

2. Call Your Mortgage Servicer

The easiest way is to simply call up your mortgage servicer and ask them. By law, they have to provide you with the owner information if asked. Be sure to specifically ask for the loan owner’s full name, address, and contact info.

3. Check Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac Loan Lookup Tools

If your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – two of the largest mortgage investors – you can look it up online:

These tools allow you to search for your loan by entering your address and last 4 digits of your Social Security number.

4. Send a Written Request to Your Servicer

Finally, you can submit a written request to your servicer asking them to disclose the mortgage owner details. Be sure to make this request formally in writing and keep records. By law, they must provide you accurate information in response to a written request.

What to Do If You Can’t Identify Your Mortgage Owner

If you’ve exhausted all four methods above and still can’t get clear information on your mortgage holder, here are some next steps:

Contact the title company that handled your loan closing – they may have record of the original owner.
Check public property records for any mortgage assignments recorded.
If you know your loan origination company, contact them to see if they service their own loans or sold yours to an investor.
Submit Qualified Written Requests or Requests for Information until your servicer provides the details.
Contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for help identifying your mortgage owner.
As a last resort, request an audit or compliance review of your mortgage servicer to force them to disclose your owner.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau states that mortgage servicers are legally obligated to provide you with the loan owner details when asked. So be persistent until you get an answer.

How to Tell if Your Mortgage Has Been Transferred

It’s common for mortgages to be transferred from one owner to another over the life of the loan. How can you tell if this has happened with your loan? Here are some signs to look for:

You are notified of a change in servicer – this often means the owner sold the mortgage.
Your servicer’s name changes on your statements – another indicator of a transfer of ownership.
You receive a mortgage transfer notice in the mail from your existing or new servicer.
Your loan number changes – this typically occurs when loans are bundled and sold to investors.
You have issues contacting your servicer or have trouble getting them to help – may signal they no longer have control over the mortgage.

By law, your existing servicer must inform you if your loan gets transferred to a new creditor or owner. But mistakes do happen, so keep an eye out for any of the signs above indicating your loan was likely sold.

Get Support from the CFPB

Having trouble tracking down your mortgage owner? Reach out to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for help. This government agency makes sure mortgage servicers and lenders treat consumers fairly.

The CFPB can assist you in figuring out who owns your loan, ensuring proper notifications were sent, and resolving any issues if your servicer isn’t providing accurate owner information. Their website also has helpful tools and resources for homeowners.

Finding out who owns your mortgage loan is an important first step in securing your rights as a homeowner. Follow the tips above to identify your mortgage holder. This knowledge will empower you should you ever need to make changes to the loan or run into issues with your servicer.

Why do we ask for your Social Security Number

Freddie Mac takes protecting your privacy seriously. We ask for your Social Security Number (SSN) to help us confirm that the requested information is being given to the mortgage holder or to someone authorized by the mortgage holder to receive the information.
We ask for your SSN because it allows us to quickly and accurately determine if your mortgage is held by Freddie Mac and to deliver an answer to you immediately. Providing a SSN increases the speed and accuracy of the look-up response.
We take measures to protect the SSN that you deliver to us (see below).

How do we handle your SSN after you enter it?

The SSN you enter within this form is only used to answer your specific look-up request. We do not save the number you enter or distribute it to a third party for any other purpose.
All information you enter in this form is transmitted from your web browser to our site via an encrypted communication channel. Please review our privacy policy for more details.

How to find out who owns your mortgage, why it matters and other nuggets of important information.

FAQ

Who owns the mortgage on my house?

The “lender” is the financial institution that loaned you the money. The lender owns the loan and is also called the “note holder” or “holder.” Sometime later, the lender might sell the mortgage debt to another entity, which then becomes the new loan owner (holder).

How do I find out if Fannie Mae owns my loan?

Visit our Loan Lookup Tool to learn whether Fannie Mae owns the mortgage on your home. Homeowners with a Fannie Mae-owned mortgage can seek help for their COVID-19 related financial hardship.

Does it matter who owns your mortgage?

It’s important to know who owns your mortgage. You’ll need this information if you’re late with your monthly payments, are looking to refinance your mortgage loan, or need a loan modification. There are several resources you can use to find out who owns your loan.

How can I check if there is a mortgage in my name?

The best way is probably to look at your credit report. If you’ve opened a credit card or any other credit account in the past, you’ll have a credit report. It’ll contain information about all of your credit accounts, including any mortgages.

How do I find out who owns my mortgage?

MERS mortgage lookup. If your loan is in the MERS system, you might be able to determine who owns or backs your loan by calling MERS or running a check on the MERS website. Fannie Mae loan lookup tool. Check the Fannie Mae lookup tool online to find out if Fannie Mae owns your loan. Loans are often sold to this government-sponsored enterprise.

How do I look up my mortgagee?

You can look up your mortgagee in a few different ways. For example, you can call or send a written request to your mortgage servicer or check the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac websites. However, MERS was created as a unified database, so it could potentially be a good place to start your search.

How do I find out if Freddie Mac owns my mortgage?

To use Fannie Mae’s Loan Lookup Tool, you’ll need to enter your name, street address and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Once you do, Fannie Mae will tell you if it owns your mortgage. Freddie Mac’s Loan Look-Up Tool works in the same way. Take the first step toward buying a house.

Can you see who owns a mortgage?

MERS is a private database created to facilitate tracking mortgages and any ownership changes. As a homeowner, you can use it to see who your loan holder is in case you want to refinance or modify your mortgage. For lenders, MERS provides the convenience of a singular place. 1. Is MERS the only way to see who owns a mortgage?