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After closing on a purchase or refinance, borrowers are often left with the question "what's next?". This page answers to the most frequently asked questions borrowers have within the days and weeks after closing.
Post-Closing FAQs
Q: When will I get access to my loan portal? A: Most lenders do not service the loan long-term, and so they do not provide a portal for borrowers to access. Before the first payment becomes due, the lender will have transferred your servicing to the long-term servicer; this new servicer will provide you with access to their loan portal. Additionally, while payments become due on the 1st (meaning you can expect portal access before the 1st), you can make your payment as late as the 16th of the month without penalty. After the 16th, the servicer is legally able to assess you for a late fee, but it would still not be considered late as far as Credit Bureau reporting is concerned.
Q: Who do I make my first payment to? A: You are allowed to make your first payment to the lender that we closed your loan with, and continue to make payments with them for up to 60 days after they transfer servicing, but we do not recommend this. The lender is required to provide payment instructions in the closing package, and it will likely be mail only. For the cleanest, most reliable, accounting of your mortgage payments, we advise our borrowers to wait until their servicing has been transferred. Once you have access to the portal with the new servicer, you can most easily make your payment.
Q: When do I have to make my payments by? A: While payments are due on the 1st of the month, you may pay as late as the 16th without penalty. For payments made after the 16th, servicers may charge a late fee. It is not until the 1st of the next month that your payment would be considered late as it concerns reporting to the Credit Bureaus.
Q: What happens if my servicing is sold or transferred? A: The terms of your loan remain the same. Both the current and new servicers are required to provide you with notice that your servicing will be transferred. And, from the date the servicing is officially transferred, you can continue to make your payments to the prior servicer for up to 60 days. We do not recommend this, but this government regulation can provide you peace of mind that you won't be surprised with a change and penalized for failing to react in time.
Q: When is my first payment due? A; Most of the time, it is simply the 1st of the month after the following month (eg: if you closed any time in March, your first payment would be due May 1st). On some transactions, if you closed early in the month, it is possible that your first payment is due the 1st of the very following month (eg: If you closed in early March, your first payment is due April 1st). There are a few ways you can find out if you are unsure: 1) Check the Daily Interest charge under Section F of your Closing Disclosure. If it is a positive number, you will skip a month (the first example applies). If it is negative, you will not skip a month (the second example applies). 2) Your Closing Package will also list out what the first payment due date is. 3) Lastly, you can always reach out to your Loan Originator to confirm.
Q: Why did I receive a partial refund after closing? A: The mostly likely sources of any refund after closing are: 1) An escrow refund from your previous servicer: When you refinance your mortgage, the old mortgage is paid in full. The previous servicer was saving up money on your behalf in order to pay your taxes and insurance for you. Since they are no longer responsible for this, they return the funds in your escrow account to you. 2) Excess payoff funds from your previous servicer: On a refinance, it is commonplace for the title company to collect, and send, too much money to payoff your previous mortgage. The excess is your money, and you can expect a check for this. 3) A check from the title company: While the first two are routine, this would only happen if the title company determined there was a mistake in your final numbers and that you overpayed at closing.