It has been years since you purchased your home and you now have decided to payoff your mortgage. So what do you do ?I recently received a call from someone who was asking me this very question.

Well, if you remember your closing when you purchased, you were given all sorts of legal documents to sign from your lender. One of these documents was a promisory note and a mortgage (deed of trust). The deed of trust is recorded as a lean by the lender in the county where the property is located.

After you make your final mortgage payment both documents should be returned to you by the lender stamped “paid and cancelled”. The cancelled promissory note is proof that you paid the mortgage in full and the deed of trust which was recorded as a lean on the property needs to be released.

Different lenders will have different procedures to release such trusts. You should call your lender to see if they will take care of recording the release of your mortgage. if they say yes, then my recommendation is to go to the county recorders office or call them and give them the original deed of trust document number and ask them to search to see if the lender has recorded the release. If this has not been done, then I recommended you request the lender mail you the stamped ‘paid and cancelled” promissory note and deed of trust and go to the county recorders office and have it released.

Finally, keep all records in a Safety box for future records. Remember, when you decide to sell you will be asked to give clear title to the property and these documents are your proof.