Lots Of Mail With Your New Mortgage? Here’s What You Should Know

Did you just close on a new mortgage? Congratulations! Whether you’re buying your first or your 10th home, or even refinancing to put yourself in a better financial position, it’s a big deal.

While this is very exciting, you should also know that after getting your mortgage, a lot of companies take this as a signal that you might be interested in products that go along with homeownership. This means you’re going to get a lot more mail than you normally do and it won’t necessarily be your grandma’s holiday cookies. You’ll also get some mail from the investor in your mortgage after you close your loan. It’s an important document you should keep. We’ll explain what this means and why you shouldn’t have to worry about it.

Why All This Mail?

There are two types of mail you may receive for a while after you get into your new house: mail for the previous occupants and offers for various products and services.

Dealing With Someone Else’s Mail

When you move into an existing house, the hope is that the previous owner remembered to fill out a change of address form with the U.S. Post Office before running out the door.

If they didn’t, you can mark the envelope “return to sender.” That way, the sender will at least know it’s time to update their address books.

Mail For Products And Services

When you move, marketers know that protection and maintenance services for your new home are top of mind for a while right after you move in. How do they get your information? They can get it in one of a few ways:

Companies involved in a previous transaction with you may sell your information to interested parties. Rocket Mortgage® will never sell your information.

When you move, many records become public information. This means that parties interested in selling you products and services can freely get data on you from your deed recording within a week or two after closing. This information includes:

• the mortgage lender
• the borrower (you)
• loan amount
• loan number
• property address

Because part of the information recorded includes the lender, companies that are trying to deceive you may attempt to sell you products or services and represent themselves as Rocket Mortgage. There are a few things you should know in order to avoid getting taken by a company misrepresenting itself:

Some companies won’t say who they are, but will place our logo on their mailer. They may offer autopay for a small fee attached to every payment or a couple hundred dollars to start the plan. Rocket Mortgage offers a variety of payment options including autopay, but we’ll never charge you to make a payment.

You may also get offers for a couple of different types of life insurance.

This isn’t junk mail, but it’s up to you if you want to take advantage of these offers.

In the case of some types of mortgage life insurance, policies take effect if an unexpected life event causes you not to be able to make a couple of mortgage payments. Another type of life insurance pays a benefit to you or your loved ones if the person named in the policy passes away. While these policies in and of themselves aren’t a bad thing, companies may try to present them as if Rocket Mortgage is offering them. We don’t offer any life insurance service. If you’re considering these policies, look for a company that is honest about who they are.

You may also get mail for lawn and snow removal service, security systems, etc. You may or may not want to take advantage of these offers. You can also take steps to reduce or eliminate junk mail.

Investor Sale Letter

Rocket Mortgage is a mortgage originator. That means we sell the vast majority of our loans after we close them in order to get funds to help more Americans buy homes or refinance. According to the Urban Institute, as of late 2020, more than 97% of all U.S. mortgages are held by the mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or government agencies like the FHA and VA. It’s normal to have a mortgage investor.

Nothing changes about your mortgage. Additionally, we still service your mortgage the majority of the time. This means you’ll continue making your payment to us. You can always reach out to us with questions or concerns. We’re here to help now and in the future with all your purchasing and refinancing needs.

Tossing The Junk

Beyond knowing why you’re getting all this mail, it’s probably a good idea to talk for a minute about how to put a stop to the deluge of offers if you don’t want them. The way you handle this depends on the type of offers you’re getting, but let’s run through a few things real quick.

If you’re getting service offers, one website you should take a look at is the opt out section of the Data and Marketing Association. Participating marketers and services in this program honor the preferences you set out within your account on the site.

If you’re sick of getting prequalified offers on credit cards and loans in the mail, the credit agencies have a website set up where you can opt out of receiving loan or credit offers.

Another service to look at is Catalog Choice. They boast a database of almost 10,000 items you can opt out of from clothing brands and credit card companies to charities.

When it comes to emails, if it’s a reputable company, they will have an unsubscribe link. It’s usually at the bottom of the email. If there’s no link and it’s more like spam, marking it with a spam filter within your email service or program should help.

Fraud Comes In Many Forms

We’ve spent most of this article talking about the different things you can expect in the mail when you close on your mortgage, but scammers are creative, and they won’t only contact you via the mail. Here are some other things to be aware of based on our experience:

• Be wary of people calling, often from other countries, with a scheme to “pay your loan off.” If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• We’ve gotten reports of people going door to door selling insurance who are saying they’re affiliated with Rocket Mortgage. We don’t sell insurance and they aren’t.
• You may get direct mail pieces or other forms of communication with home warranty or insurance offers. While these may be legitimate in many cases and you can decide whether they’re right for you, you should be aware that Rocket Mortgage isn’t involved in these offers. They’ve gotten your name from public records related to your loan closing.

Hopefully this has helped you understand some of the mail you’re receiving after getting your new loan. To view documents related to your mortgage, check out Rocket Mortgage Servicing.