In 25 years of providing support and solutions to the mortgage industry, we’ve seen a little bit of everything. But there’s almost nothing we hate to see as much as a lien release that comes back rejected – especially when it’s completely avoidable.
Lien release rejection leaves lenders at risk, because it creates a break in the custody of the underlying property. Lenders can’t move forward and it can take months to correct. Plus to make matters worse, the penalties for non-compliance of state statutes that could be levied on the lender will have a dramatic effect on their bottom line.
But as disruptive as lien release rejection can be, it is, unfortunately, a common occurrence. That’s partly because there are so many ways a lien release can be rejected at one of the more than 3,600 recording offices across the United States. Here are the top reasons lien releases are rejected, and how to avoid them.
Top Lien Release Rejection Issues
According to one lien preparation firm, when you throw in federal and investor sources, it adds up to more than 1.1 million unique recording requirements.
Here are just a few of the million-plus ways things can go wrong:
- You used the wrong font
- You used the wrong size paper
- Your margins were too big
- Your margins were too small
- Your notary didn’t leave a very good impression
- A witness signature is impossible to decipher
- You got the fees wrong
- You got the fees right but a date wrong
- A date is missing
- You sent the wrong document
- You sent the right document to the wrong county
- The history is wrong
The point is that the lien release process can be treacherous. And the consequences are disruptive, expensive and irritating to clients. As complicated as it can be, this is a process you want to error-proof as much as possible. At MetaSource, we can help. We’ve had decades to perfect best practices and develop solutions that streamline every aspect of the mortgage process. We keep up with the requirements of all of those recording
offices, right down to the margins on the documents.
Lean on MetaSource
When you choose an experienced third-party partner to handle your lien release processes, you take the guesswork out of it. Let MetaSource make sure your lien releases are filed correctly, with all the right documents and no missing information. Where there are gaps, we can retrieve documents, correct bad information, enter data and create documents that align to the required standards. And we can usually do it within two weeks.
Our proprietary document management software, Eclipse, allows us to fast track the recording process across multiple jurisdictions – with the lowest rejection rate in the industry – and round-the-clock, password-protected online tracking.
If lien release rejection is a problem for you, contact us for an audit of your practices and capabilities. We can help you find a better way.