A mortgage lender is required to satisfy a mortgage in the recorder of deeds office of the relevant Pennsylvania County upon completion of an entire mortgage obligation and payment of the satisfaction and recording costs.
The satisfaction when recorded acts to forever discharge and release the mortgage lien from the subject property for all to see via public records.
Mortgage satisfaction laws in Pennsylvania provide a homeowner with recourse when a mortgage lender fails to satisfy a mortgage that has been paid-in-full, reduced to a $0.00 obligation via a bankruptcy discharge, or otherwise released. In such circumstances, a homeowner can invoke the mortgage satisfaction laws by sending a "notice to satisfy" and tendering the satisfaction and recording costs to the mortgage lender, which acts to place the mortgage lender in a position to act within 60 days of receipt of the "notice to satisfy" and costs.
So what happens if the mortgage lender does not timely satisfy the mortgage after receiving a "notice and costs" per Pennsylvania Mortgage Satisfaction Law?
If the mortgage lender fails to comply with Pennsylvania Mortgage Satisfaction Law properly used by the homeowner and does not timely satisfy the mortgage, the homeowner can recover a significant penalty in the sum of the original loan amount plus reasonable attorney fees and costs in a successful legal action against the mortgage lender.
If you feel this is your situation and a mortgage should have been satisfied, please give us a call for a free consultation to discuss the next steps.
