So, my mortgage is with WAMU, and they look to be on the ropes. Am I at risk?

[eeyore]

Seriously. I don't have any invested or held there, but they do hold my mortgage. What happens if they go belly up?

Will someone just buy my mortgage? Will the rates stay the same by some legal mandate?

Will I be given the deed on my house and have the remainder forgiven? :)

Seriously. What will happen?

Anyone care to armchair accountant on this one?

[grasswire]

1. from what I've read....

...another institution will buy WaMu's bidness. You'll still be obligated. Sorry.

[eeyore]

6. Aw shit!

Wishful thinking. I'm pretty sure they bought my mortgage from B of A. Eventually there will just be one giant company/bank that has all of the fucking money in this country. And they'll likely be Chinese owned. Guess I'd better go start to learn Chinese.

[DCKit]

16. I would, however, gather all your cancelled checks and other records of payment.

One of the sleazier actors in the business wouldn't hesitate to accuse you of missing a payment - or three - in order to collect fees. It happened to me twice when my mortgage was sold.

[progdonkey]

2. I figure someone will buy the debt...

so you'll just owe someone else the remainder.

I don't really have a clue, though, but that seems like the obvious answer.

Meaning I'm most certainly wrong. ;-)

[wildbilln864]

3. And I saw a TV ad of theirs run a couple hours ago here...

WTF!? :crazy:

[billyoc]

4. No.

[Wapsie B]

5. Loan forgiven? Just think, would this country give the common man a break like that?

Someone else will buy the paper. You're still on the hook.

[depakid]

8. Unless the orginal paper gets lost

Then there may be other options.

[lapfog_1]

7. Depends...

If there is a bailout (and it works) then you are "fine".

IF there is a buyer, your mortgage goes to the purchaser and you are likely "fine" (though the purchaser might want to renegotiate the mortgage... read the fine print to see if they can do this... and don't do anything that violates the contract).

If they simply go bankrupt, well now things are dicey. Your mortgage is an asset to Wamu, and the assets will, eventually, be split up by the various debt holders... it all depends at that point.

Are you SURE they even hold your mortgage? They may have originated it and are "servicing" it right now, but they may have sold all or part of the debt obligation to someone else... and that might be $$$$ for you. A number of people who have defaulted have sued the mortgage originator to have them produce the intact mortgage. And when they cannot (because the sold it, possibly dicing it up for sale to a number of buyers) you might be "home free" literally. But don't count on this... try to find out what happened to your mortgage before they go under... visit the loan officer at the bank and have him get back to you on the status of your mortgage. Try to get copies of all bank records from him "just in case".

[eeyore]

11. It was sold to them by B of A a few years back.

At this point I still write checks to them, but tomorrow who knows? I'll look back over my original contract. I'm sure the loan officer had me sign some damn page during the closing that addresses this. And I'm sure I just laughed and thought the notion of a bank going bankrupt seemed absurd. Strange days, indeed.

[Journeyman]

9. Keep a happy thought -- maybe you'll get lost in the shuffle! . . .

Most likely, however, someone else will buy your mortgage and the only change you'll see is that your monthly check gets written to someone new. Legally, I don't believe they can change your mortgage agreement as it's a contract you entered into with the original holder. But hey, I'm just some schlub on the internet who hopes you get lost in the shuffle and end up with a house free and clear, so don't take my word as binding. (My hopes, yes, but in this instance my word is mere speculation.)

I had my mortgage bought twice in the late '80s, early '90s, and nothing untoward happened either time. Good luck to ya! Hey, good luck to us all. . .

[MidwestTransplant]

10. Your mortgage is long sold. Wamu may be the servicer still and if they go bankrupt, somebody else

will service it. You will send the payments to the new servicer. They'll let you know who it is.

[wtmusic]

12. Nope. You owe THEM money.

Whoever ends up with their assets assumes their obligations as well -- including the mortgage rate you negotiated with them.

Cheers!

[flvegan]

13. You sure it's not MERS as nominee for WaMu?

Either way, not really at risk.

[AndyTiedye]

14. There Have Been Cases Where The Mortgage Had Been Bought And Sold So Many Times…

…that when they went to try and foreclose and the owner demanded the actual note, they could not produce it!

[anigbrowl]

15. Nothing, yes, probably, no.

Your mortgage would get sold to some other bank. If you were very lucky you might be able to buy it back and refinance at much lower rate, but only if you know how to follow commercial securities auctions (which I don't either).

[progressivebydesign]

17. No. Mortgages are ASSETS to banks. What is with the panic here on DU?

Mortgages are a valuable commodity. If a bank has an issue and is taken over or sold, your mortgage is an ASSET to the bank. That's the first thing that would be possibly sold, but your note is solid.

Honestly.. I think people need to take a deep breath and do some research if they're concerned.

[eeyore]

18. No panic here, just curious about the process

It would be nice to have some reassurance that whoever does buy it can't change the terms of the loan, but I'm sure they can't. Hell, pay one bank or the other...what difference does it make in the end?

[samuraiguppy]

19. if you are locked in to a written

contract, the only thing that will change is where you mail your check to.