Just got mailed a "Release of Deed of Trust and Release" - what?? (documents, mortgage)

[RoJl5]

Hi all,

I own a condo that I bought just a few years ago and still have a huge debt on, but have been timely with all payments. I just got a very official-looking letter in the mail titled "Release of Deed of Trust and Release" with "Release in full" marked with an "X" from my mortgage company. It's two pages of words like "Public Trustee" and "Production of Evidence of Debt Pursuant". Does anyone have any idea what this is? My bank isn't open for a few days and I'll be travelling and stuff and I'm worried that maybe through some weird technicality they're going to call my debt or steal my house. Or maybe I have a mysterious benefactor who paid off my mortgage (no). But what right does a bank have to send a letter in such incomprehensible legalese without warning to a paying customer? I get mad just looking at this thing.

[rational1]

Well let's think about the possibilities

1) I means something very bad for you

2) It means the bank thinks your mortgage is paid off

3) It's some sort of scam.

If you have paid up regularly #1 is unlikely. If #2 it is a mistake that will get rectified real quick. My money is on #3.

I don't know HOW you could get scammed but if you do call your bank...make real sure you are calling the bank.

[AnotherBravesFan]

Your loan was sold to another lender. The original lender is recording a release to show that they are no longer the note holder.

[Troglodyte74]

Originally Posted by AnotherBravesFan

Your loan was sold to another lender. The original lender is recording a release to show that they are no longer the note holder.

When a Deed of Trust is released, it is no longer a lien against the property. If the loan is simply sold to another lender, an Assignment is recorded, but the Deed of Trust is not released. The only way the release makes sense is (1) it's a huge mistake of the sort lenders generally don't make (but will not result in a windfall for the OP even if it is); (2) it is referring to a Deed of Trust that was paid off when the OP bought the place (i.e., it is not a release of the OP's Deed of Trust); or (3) the OP refinanced the loan, and the refinancing lender released the original Deed of Trust and recorded a new one.

If you (the OP) have a copy of your Deed of Trust, it should have the recording information on it (book and page or instrument number). See if the release references the recording information for your Deed of Trust. In most states, you can look at the entire chain of title to your property by logging on to the County Recorder's website and searching under your name. This may show you a sequence of documents that will resolve the mystery. It's not uncommon for lenders to take a long time to get around to recording a release (sometimes never, unless you demand one), so this could very well relate to a Deed of Trust prior to yours (but typically it wouldn't be sent to you unless it is just a courtesy copy).

I have no idea what the Production of Evidence of Debt Pursuant is all about. Ah, I just looked on Google and it appears to be part of the Colorado release form. My guess is that this doesn't relate to your loan or your Deed of Trust, but that's a pure Arizona lawyer guess.

[cully]

Does it say to provide any id or to pay them anything?

Is the your mortgage company they list really your mortgage company? If you don't know, don't trust it. Look up the name, address and phone number for yourself.

Did they misspell anything? English as a second/third/fourth language vocabulary? Did they provide any of your personal info incorrectly?

[cully]

Have not experienced a release of deed of trust and release. If that's all that says. Have had just release of deed of trust.

From an acquaintance of mine, in her experience the public trustee acted for a property that did not have an executor and the owner had died. This extra work required a deposit of a sum of money for them to act as your trustee. Just watch out regarding that "you deposit this and I'll do that" in case it's not for real.

The public trustee can also be used where one trustee is removed for another. I have never paid for a loan being sold between lenders.

So take a breathe and proceed. But do so quickly. Can you shorten the travel and stuff?