Paperwork shuffle

One important thing to keep in mind when shopping for mortgage quotes is to ask the bank if the mortgage is through their institution, or if they are selling it to another bank. For example, we decided to go with a local bank for our mortgage because we figured it would be easier to deal with. Imagine our surprise when we discovered the bank had sold our mortgage to Washington Mutual. It didn't make much difference to us at the time, but now that we are dealing with a large insurance claim that involves the mortgage company, I really wish we could deal with it locally.

Apparently, when the claim is over five thousand dollars, the check is made payable to the mortgage company as well as the homeowners. The mortgage then deposits the money into a restricted account and will only release half of the funds until the homeowners send in a bunch of paperwork to prove they are actually having the house fixed. Once the work is completed to their approval, they release the rest of the money to the homeowners so they can pay for the work.

So we are busy juggling through paperwork, while work is being done and the contractors (understandably) want to be paid for their work. Then a couple of days ago, Washington Mutual was bought out by JP Morgan Chase. Oh, great. So now we are worried that this will slow things down even more and it will take longer to see the money.