Resource Page: Lender/Payoff Letter Information
When real estate that's being sold is subject to a mortgage, the lender must be contacted prior to the closing, and a "payoff letter" must be obtained. This letter tells the party in charge of the closing (in Illinois, this is usually the title company) the exact balance on the sellers' mortgage as of the day of closing, as well as information about how to send the final payment to the lender.
The attorney for the seller usually obtains a payoff letter for his or her clients as part of the title commitment/title insurance process. This can be a fairly simple process, except for the fact that each lender must be contacted separately, and has different requirements for obtaining a payoff letter. Some of these requirements are due to privacy concerns, while others simply appear to be based on the lender's preferences.
This page is meant to be a resource for attorneys and other individuals needing to order a payoff letter. My goal is to list pertinent information for most major lenders here, including contact information and requirements for obtaining a payoff letter, in order to streamline the process of obtaining these letters. To that end, I ask that readers e-mail me if they come across this information for a lender not yet listed below -- I'll then update this page with such information.
Lender: Bank One/Chase
Phone: (800) 836-5656
Information Needed for Payoff Letter: loan number, seller's zip code
Lender: Citimortgage
Phone: (800) 283-7918
Information Needed for Payoff Letter: seller’s
social security number (last four digits), loan
number
Lender: GMAC Mortgage Corp.
Phone: (800) 766-4622
Information Needed for Payoff Letter: seller’s
social security number (last four digits) and name, loan
number
Lender: Washington Mutual
Phone: (866)
926-8937
Information Needed for Payoff Letter: seller’s
social security number (last four digits), loan
number
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