Separate the loan owner from the servicer
The owner or investor holds the mortgage loan. The servicer is the company that collects payments and handles questions about the account. A change in ownership does not always mean the servicer will change.
A letter saying that Fannie Mae purchased your loan can be informational. Fannie Mae explains that when it purchases a loan, the loan terms and the company receiving your payments remain the same unless you receive separate servicing instructions.
Read each transfer notice carefully
CFPB says a new loan owner generally must notify you within 30 days after the ownership transfer takes effect. A servicing transfer is different. The old and new servicers generally send notice around the transfer date, sometimes in one combined notice.
For a servicing change, confirm the effective date, the last date the old servicer accepts payments, the first date the new servicer accepts payments, and the new servicer's contact information. Keep the notice with your mortgage records.
Update payments using verified information
Use the payment instructions in the official servicing notice or welcome packet. If anything looks unfamiliar, call a verified number from a prior statement or another trusted source before changing an automatic payment.
Update your bank's bill-pay instructions for the correct effective date. Then review the next mortgage statements to confirm that the payment was received and applied correctly.
Know the 60-day payment protection
CFPB explains that during the 60 days after a servicing transfer takes effect, the new servicer cannot charge a late fee or treat a payment as late if you sent it to the previous servicer on time or within the applicable grace period.
Keep proof of the payment date and amount. This protection does not remove the need to follow the new instructions for future payments.
Act if a payment or notice is wrong
Contact both servicers if you did not receive a transfer notice, a payment was not applied correctly, or an existing loss-mitigation request was not carried forward. CFPB explains that a written information request or notice of error may be appropriate for servicing problems.
Keep copies of notices, statements, payment confirmations and correspondence. If the issue remains unresolved, use the CFPB resources below to understand the complaint and error-resolution options.
- Confirm whether the letter concerns ownership, servicing, or both.
- Verify the payment address and effective date independently.
- Check your next statement and keep proof of payment.
- Contact the servicers promptly if information does not match.
Source review
The official CFPB and Fannie Mae resources below were checked October 12, 2026. CFPB's loan-sale answer was last reviewed January 14, 2025, and its servicing-transfer answer was last reviewed April 3, 2024. The Fannie Mae page does not display a publication or revision date, so this article records the date it was checked. This is general education, not individual loan or legal advice.
General education only. This article does not offer a rate or guarantee loan approval. Loan options depend on your circumstances and lender review.