4 Tips for Overcoming Mortgage Servicing Woes

— -- Dear ABC News Fixer: My mortgage was purchased by Nationstar Mortgage in May, but they never paid the second half of my property taxes.

Now a tax lien is going to be placed on my house. I've been calling them every week. They keep telling me the taxes will be paid and to be patient.

I'm really starting to panic. The deadline is coming up quickly. Can you help me, PLEASE?

- Josephine Grundstrom, Bay Shore, N.Y.

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Dear Josephine: By the time you came to the ABC News Fixer, you had already spent more than a month dealing with no less than eight different customer service reps at Nationstar. You had told your story so many times you were probably repeating it in your sleep. The reps would tell you not to worry – but with the sale of your taxes by Suffolk County, N.Y., just a couple weeks away you were in full panic mode.

What was so frustrating is you had funded your escrow to make sure your taxes were paid.

We got in touch with Nationstar spokesman John Hoffmann in hopes of slicing through this red tape. To his credit, he got on the case right away. Nationstar overnighted the tax payment to the county, thus removing your home from peril.

He told us the mix-up occurred because the original loan servicer was supposed to make the payment, since it was due May 31 – within the first month of the switch. That rule is supposed to make sure nothing falls through the cracks in the transition from one mortgage servicer to another.

If you get hit with any late fees, Nationstar promises they’ll take care of them and then they’ll go back to your old servicer to settle up.

As to why the customer service reps couldn’t get this fixed, Hoffmann didn’t know – but he said the company will make sure the employees know what to do if this happens again.

You’re not the only person coming to the ABC News Fixer with mortgage servicing woes. It seems that for some of us consumers, every time we turn around we have a new loan servicer. If you get switched, here are some things to know:

• If your loan is moved to a new servicer, your current servicer must notify you at least 15 days before the change.
• Read the notice from your new loan servicer carefully. Make sure all the information about you and your loan is accurate.
• Call the new company if you’re confused about where to send your payment.
• Stay organized. If an error occurs, you’ll have a much easier time correcting it if you have all the proof of your payments at hand.

- The ABC News Fixer