What a pain in the ass.

Paid off my house in February.  Mortgage company (ditech) was supposed to send a satisfaction of mortgage to the county so they could clear the deed.  Well, I checked because it was several months past due and I checked with the county clerk.  Nothing.  Long story short, I call back the mortgage company and find out that the original mortgage company (per usual business the mortgage was sold to other companies a couple times) is out of business and my last mortgage company "did not have the authority to release the original lien" (I think that's what they said).

Anyway the "lien release department" is sketchy as fuck, they have no direct phone number, just a fax and email.  The emails I sent were returned undelivered as not a good email address.  The people that answer the phone read the notes in the computer to me.  Turns out they are trying to get something called a "quiet title" but that it's "done through lawyers" and "a lengthy process with no timeframe."  WTF?  What if I was trying to sell my house?  I'm not... yet... but what if I was?

Anyone here heard of this bullshit before?  How long did it take to sort out?  Am I going to be on the hook for the legal fees?  They didn't say I would but I'm wondering if this is going to come back to me.

Do they want killdozer? 'Cause this is how you get Killdozer....

Seriously, sounds like a bunch of BS...the damned house is paid off, give the man his lien release!!!!

I paid my mortgage off not to long ago and had to pay a tax to the county for the lien release. I think is was about $250.

I think I had the lien release in about 3 months.

But my problem is that the mortgage company won't send them what they need

Have you tired to contact AG lodge a formal compliant?

Be amazed how log jams get cleared up pretty fast when they get looking into it.

No, everything I've done so far, I put in the OP.  That's why I'm seeking advice.  Didn't occur to me to contact the AG.  Might be worth a try!

When the mortgage was sold to the other company, the original lien was transferred. My first mortgage company was a small company, who then sold it to Wells Fargo. When it was transferred a transfer notice was sent to the county to tell them of the new lien holder, and I got a copy of that letter.
When I refinanced a few months ago, the Wells Fargo lien was released, and a new lien was filed for the new mortgage.

I smell something rotten going on, like maybe the lien wasn't transferred when they bought your mortgage. If the original company ceased to exist, and that was the only claim against your property then there was effectively no lien holder. At some point the holdings of that original company was transferred to the new company, and they should have filed the paperwork to show they now held a mortgage and a lien against your property...

I am no mortgage banker or anything, but I have bought and sold a few houses and dealt with my mortgage being sold a couple times. Its common, and its routine if done correctly.

Back a few years ago when lenders were buying and selling the mortgages with wreck-less abandon...

Didn't some people stop making their payments and the mortgage holder's couldn't take the houses because there wasn't a proper paper trail?

Good luck OP....

Should I get a lawyer of my own?  Any recommendations?

I would try AG first and see what they say quick call should determine that..

If not i would get a lawyer for sure..

The gov't still owns your property, peasant.  

IIRC Ditech was into some sketchy sub-prime stuff during the bubble. All I recall was some passing news report to that effect.  And as previously mentioned a number of folks to advantage of improper paperwork but that required court proceedings where the mortgage co. stuck holding the paper had to prove title. I'm not 100% certain if there is a legal deadline for the release / satisfaction of lien but 60-90 days should be the max. And you should receive the original signed copy.

If you do have to go the lawyer route make sure it is one who is a real estate expert, your run of the mill general practitioner will have no clue how to compel a satisfaction under Real Property Actions and Proceeding Law.  There are provisions in the law for penalties against the lender.

I'd love to have them pay the legal fees, to be honest.  I should not have to fight for this shit and have stress over it.

I think you can file in small claims court for like $30. Drop a lawsuit against them for your legal costs for the mortgage. They may just give you a check for the costs, just to drop the suit and not have to have their lawyer show up.

This.

They should be able to get your title as soon as you have asked for it. They are BS you, calling is not gonna get you anywhere, because those are call centers and you always get a different "agent" which probably care less about your "mortgage". Go into a branch ask to speak with the manager, tell them you ARE filing a complaint with the BBB and the AG and that your Lawyer will be contacting them. This seems to help move stuff quick.

eta: where are you located?

AG yes.  Being a legal entity they can get stuff moving.

BBB... I'm not sure that'll scare them.  It's basically like telling them you're making a report about them on Angie's List.  They're not a government agency so all they can do is ask the other company to work with you and give them a bad report card if they don't.

It's Ditech.  No branches I know of, I don't even think they are a bank.

Very helpful, thank you!