Best Practices

Servicing Your Loan

No and Low-Cost Services
We offer many services for free, such as:

-	Copies of loan documents
-	Copies of payment histories
-	Escrow accounts for taxes and insurance
-	Online services
-	Outbound faxing
-	Verifications of mortgages

When the cost of a particular service involves the charging of a fee, our fees are reasonable and in keeping with the industry.

Payment Options
Multiple options are available to our borrowers to ensure timely payments.

-	Recurring electronic debit (ACH) This free service is available to make an electronic debit directly from your bank account.
-	Online payments through Option One’s secure web site You can visit www.optiononeonline.com, log in to "My Account" and click the "Pay Bill" link.  Online payments made on weekends, holidays, or after 8:00 PM PST on weekdays will be processed on the next business day.  Payments will be reflected on your account within 24-48 hours of payment.
-	Pay-by-phone (automated or associate assisted) Option One puts the power of choice in your hands when making a payment. We offer the use of our interactive self service application, Easy Pay, and also offer you the choice of a phone pay with one of our associates.
-	Mail For borrowers who prefer to mail payments, we maintain payment facilities on the East and West coasts to minimize mailing time.

For more information regarding these services, click here or call our Customer Contact Center at 800.648.9605.

Posting Payments
Payments are usually processed on the day they are received. However, if a payment cannot be posted or is returned by the processing bank, an attempt to notify you by phone and mail will be made. Additionally, an updated billing statement is mailed if payment is not received by the late-charge date.

Escrow Accounts
Option One believes escrow accounts benefit borrowers. Escrow accounts provide a means to put money aside monthly to pay real estate taxes and homeowners insurance. These monthly payments can help you avoid large, lump-sum payments when bills are due. We provide these time saving and convenient escrow accounts free of charge. There are no set-up or deletion fees for an escrow account. If your loan does not already have this feature, we will ask you if you’d like to establish an escrow account when we make your welcome call. Our Customer Contact Center associates are also trained to explain the benefit to borrowers and ask them if they’d like to start an account. Click here to learn more about escrow accounts or to access an online escrow account application form, please click here.

Homeowners/Hazard Insurance
As is the case with all lenders, we require you to have homeowners insurance on your home. It is very important for us to have your most current information. For this reason, we have several ways for you to provide us with your homeowners insurance information:

-	Online - Update directly online at Update My Insurance
-	By Mail - Mail a copy of the insurance policy to Option One.
-	By Phone - A verbal confirmation is accepted in many instances. Option One associates will confirm the details directly with the insurance agent.

If your insurance is about to expire, we will contact your insurance agent and/or carrier before insurance lapses to get updated policy information. If we are unsuccessful, we will send you the following notices:

-	First notice: At the expiration date, a notice is mailed advising you that the insurance has expired.
-	Second notice: 30 days after the policy expiration date, a letter is mailed to you (by certified mail) to remind you again. (30 days after the second notice is sent, the loan is placed in lender-placed coverage status.)
-	Final notice: After lender-placed coverage is established, we will send you a letter/certificate advising that the lender-placed insurance is in effect. The letter is sent at least 30 days before the increased payment is instituted.

These notices are sent to alert you that if we do not receive proof of insurance, the insurance we buy to cover your home may be more expensive and provide you with less coverage. If we do buy insurance on your behalf, we do not receive any commissions. If you are having difficulty obtaining insurance, in some instances, we may be able to refer you to our insurance partner’s “Never Say No” product (not available in all states). We will obtain lender-placed insurance only as a last resort. Once you have purchased your own insurance policy, we will promptly cancel the lender-placed insurance and issue any refunds due.

Your Credit
We report all payment transactions, not just delinquent payments, to the four national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Innovis, TransUnion). By reporting current payments, we can help customers who are working to improve their credit standing.

Paying Off Your Loan
When you are ready to pay off your loan, we promptly provide a payoff statement, typically within 48 hours of the request.

Once your loan has been paid off, we promptly refund any excess funds escrowed for taxes or insurance, typically within 30 days. For more information regarding these services, click here or call our Customer Contact Center at 800.648.9605

Best Practices

Best Practices Servicing Your Loan Behind the Scenes Customer Service Keeping Your Home