I wrote exactly one month ago about how we had paid off our mortgage (see here). Simply sending in the last payment to a mortgage is not enough however. To truly be finished with a loan, whether that be a student loan or a mortgage, you need the paperwork to back it up. For mortgages, that comes in the flavor of a Release from Mortgage. Basically the lender says, “Yup, they done paid in full” except in writing and usually in a more educated manner.
That piece of paper does more than just give you a warm fuzzy feely. When it comes time to sell your house, the buyer is going to want proof that no one else has a legitimate claim to the property. A mortgage after all is just a secured loan, with the security being the property. So I took that nicely worded piece of notarized legalese and went down to our county clerk/recorder’s office to have it filed for $33. The clerk/recorder’s office keeps a record of all property deeds, mortgages, liens, and foreclosures. These public records are commonly available online for easy searching. It makes it very easy to research properties and also to be very nosy. 😉
Anyway, we now officially own the deed to our house free and clear. No other parties have any legitimate claim on it and the process of selling will be slightly simpler.
screenshot from county recorder’s website
Shae’s name is on the deed. I don’t know why it isn’t listed on the Grantees list, but it is where it counts.