Send the borrower a plain message on closing day that says who will service the loan, a reminder 10 days before the first payment is due, and a heads up that a servicing transfer letter may arrive. GoHighLevel can run it from the funded date and the first payment date. The bottom line: the broker does not service the loan, but the borrower's first month after closing is full of letters from strangers, and a broker who explains them is the one who gets the referral.
What servicing transfers look like
According to the CFPB, a borrower's old and new servicers generally must send notice of a transfer of servicing rights. The old servicer generally sends its notice at least 15 days before the transfer takes effect, and the new servicer sends its notice within 15 days after the transfer unless the notices were combined. For 60 days from the date the servicing transfers, the new servicer cannot charge a late fee or treat a payment as late if the borrower sent it on time to the previous servicer. A Texas Bankers Association summary lists the notice contents: the effective date, the new servicer's name and address, toll free numbers, the date the new servicer begins accepting payments, and whether the transfer affects optional insurance. The loan terms do not change except as directly related to servicing.
What to send, and when
| When | Message | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Closing day | Who the servicer is, the first payment date, where to send questions about the loan process | Sets expectations while the borrower is paying attention |
| 10 days before the first payment | A reminder of the date and to use the payment instructions in the loan documents | The first payment is the one most often missed |
| About 30 days after closing | A heads up that a letter about a change in servicer may arrive, and what it will say | The borrower knows the letter is expected |
| About 45 days after closing | A check: did anything arrive that you did not understand? | Catches confusion early |
Never put payment instructions, account numbers, or wire details in a text, and tell borrowers to confirm any change in payment instructions by calling the number printed on their loan documents.
Build it in HighLevel
- Add opportunity fields for Closing date, Servicer name, and First payment due, and fill them from the closing file.
- Start a workflow with the Opportunity Changed trigger when the stage becomes Funded.
- Send the closing day text and email, with the servicer name and the first payment date as custom values.
- Use a Custom Date Reminder on First payment due, 10 days before, to send the payment reminder.
- Add Wait steps of 30 and 45 days after funding for the servicing transfer heads up and the check in.
- Turn on Stop on Response so any reply from a worried borrower goes to the loan officer, and create a task for any reply that mentions a letter or a payment.
- After day 45, move the contact to the annual review list only if marketing consent is on file.
Messages, written out
Closing day: Congratulations, Dana, and thank you for trusting [Brokerage]. Your loan will be serviced by [Servicer], and your first payment is due on May 1. Your payment instructions are in your loan documents. If you have questions about the loan process, call me at [number]. Reply STOP to stop messages. 30 day heads up: Hi Dana, Sam at [Brokerage]. Loans are sometimes transferred to a new servicer, and you may receive a letter about it. If you do, the loan terms stay the same, and if you are unsure whether a letter is real, call me before you pay anything.
Worked example
A broker who funds 25 loans a month sends 25 closing day messages and 25 first payment reminders (25 loans each), and 25 heads up and check in messages at 30 and 45 days, which is 100 messages in all. If 6 percent of borrowers reply with a question, that is 6 calls a month (100 messages would be 25 borrowers, 25 times 0.24 is 6), and each one is a conversation that costs little and builds a referral. The reply rate is an assumption, so replace it with your own.
Rules
These messages are about the borrower's own loan, so they are informational, but they still need texting consent and a registered number. The Safeguards Rule applies to the file, so keep account details in your secure system, and do not combine a service message with a promotion.
How a borrower can tell a real transfer letter from a scam
A real transfer letter names the new servicer and the effective date, lists toll free numbers, and says the loan terms do not change except as directly related to servicing, according to the Texas Bankers Association summary. It should match what the borrower learned at closing. A borrower who is unsure should call the servicer's number from their original loan documents or from your message, not the number on the letter, and should never send a payment to new instructions that arrived by text or email. Putting this in a short message before the letter arrives is the most useful thing a broker can do in the first month.
What the broker owns and what the servicer owns
The broker answers questions about the loan process and the closing, and the servicer answers questions about payments, escrow, and statements. Say so in the closing day message, with both numbers. A borrower who knows who to call stops calling the wrong person, and a broker who answers the first call kindly is remembered at the next purchase.
How this was handled before
The loan officer sent a thank you card, and the borrower first heard about servicing from a letter from a company they had never dealt with. A short sequence puts an explanation in front of the letter.
What to measure
Track closing day messages sent, replies, first payment reminders sent, calls about servicing letters, and annual reviews booked. The number of confused borrowers who called someone other than you is the one to watch.
Questions people ask
When must a servicer notify a borrower of a transfer?
The old servicer generally sends notice at least 15 days before the transfer, and the new servicer within 15 days after, according to the CFPB.
What if a borrower pays the old servicer after a transfer?
For 60 days from the transfer date, the new servicer cannot charge a late fee or treat the payment as late if it was sent on time to the previous servicer.
Should a broker text payment instructions?
No. Tell borrowers to use the instructions in their loan documents and to confirm any change by calling the number on those documents.
You can start a GoHighLevel account here and build the after closing sequence, and see date triggers in our capabilities demo.