Questions and Answers
What is a lien?
"A lien is a claim or charge on property to ensure payment of a debt, obligation or duty to the lender."
The lender is the institution that made the loan.
"The lender will record the Deed of Trust or Mortgage document in the public records with the appropriate agency in the county where the property is located. Once the loan is repaid, the lender should provide a recordable lien release document. It is very important that you record the lien release document with the same county agency that recorded the original Deed of Trust or Mortgage."
Why wasn’t the lien released by the bank when I paid it off years ago?
"Since the ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ was not the lender, the ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ cannot answer that question. However, if your loan was with a failed bank or savings and loan, the ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ may be able to assist you in obtaining a lien release."
Under what circumstance may the ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ be able to help me obtain a lien release?
The ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ may be able to assist in issuing a lien release in the following cases:
If the lien holder is a bank or savings and loan that failed and has been placed into ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ Receivership.
If the lien holder is an active or recently dissolved Subsidiary of a failed bank or savings and loan.
If the loan was paid off to the bank or savings and loan before the Institution failed.
If the loan was paid off to the ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ after the bank or savings and loan failed.
"If you have any questions regarding the ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ’s ability to assist with a lien release, please contact ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ DRR Customer Service at 888-206-4662, between the hours of 8am - 4pm Central Time Monday through Friday (except federal holidays)."
Why do I have to provide so much information? Don't you already have the records?
"The ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ is the Receiver of the failed bank or savings and loan. ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ is not the actual lender, and the failed bank records in our possession are limited. If there is an acquiring institution for a failed bank or savings and loan, in most cases, the records were transferred to the acquirer. The acquirer may have information that will assist you with obtaining a lien release."
What can I expect and when can I expect a response?
Once the request has been entered through the Community Portal at https://ask.fdic.gov/fdicinformationandsupportcenter/s/ you will receive a screen notification of your assigned case number and then an acknowledgement email containing the case number.
"Because of the large volume of requests received at the ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ, it typically takes up to 20 business days to process a request once all required documentation has been provided by the requestor. If the required document(s) are not provided and extensive research is required, additional days may be added to our processing timeframe."
We cannot accept requests by phone or email.
You can contact ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ DRR Customer Service at 888-206-4662 between the hours of 8am – 4pm Central Time Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) to speak to a customer service representative.
"If you do not have access to a computer, you may mail your request to: ¶à±¦ÓÎÏ·ÏÂÔØ, DRR Customer Service, 600 North Pearl Street, Suite 700, Dallas, TX"