Mortgage Company Wants a Document I Can't Provide

Hi everyone,

My mortgage was recently taken over by a new company, and they sent me a letter asking for the “master hazard insurance policy.” They said if I don’t provide it, they will get their own insurance and charge me for it.

After making many phone calls, I found out that I don’t need to have this policy because it covers the entire condo building, not my unit. The Homeowners Association (HoA) board is telling the management company to get the document for me, but the management company is passing it on to their insurance agent. I’ve talked to everyone, but no one is helping me.

I’m really worried that Freedom Mortgage will charge me for insurance that I can’t afford.

What should I do?

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Your unit number will not be included as it pertains only to the entire building. We often receive these requests for condos.

I could always obtain a copy of the master policy and update the mortgagee for unit #.

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However, the mortgagee remains the same; they simply require a copy that includes the unit number.

If you know the issuer of the Master policy, give them a call and request a copy.

Who provided your loan? Contact your broker to check if they have a copy. The HOA often requests this during the underwriting process.

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If the association isn’t delivering what’s required, this is the most effective approach.

I run a mortgage brokerage and recently faced significant challenges with Freedom regarding the acceptance of the master declaration page from a newer townhouse community. Our main hurdle was finding someone helpful within the HOA Management. Since this is a newer community, one would assume this would be an easy request. We made numerous calls to both the management company and the developer, but it felt like we were on a quest for the Holy Grail. In my experience, these HOA management companies often lack the financial incentive to assist, even though many communities pay a premium for their services. The situation escalated during underwriting, leading me to switch the deal to another investor. My advice is to keep calling until you find someone willing to help, or consider reaching out to a board member, ideally the President of the HOA.

Do you have any new neighbors who recently moved in? They probably received a copy for their closing, and they might be willing to share it with you.

My condo association has this policy available on their website in the documents section. I download it and send it to my lender every year. This is a standard request for any home or condo covered by a master plan policy.

Someone in the HOA mentioned they’ve never encountered this before. I feel so out of place.

I wasn’t aware of it before purchasing a condo. Your homeowner’s policy protects the interior of the condo, while the master policy covers the exterior, including the roof and patios. Your lender just wants to ensure that the property is fully insured.

If board members are unaware, you face a different problem: an incompetent board member. The board must have authorized both the policy and the expenditure. Depending on the state, this policy could represent a significant portion of your expenses.

If you can access HOA documents online, you will often find the master policy included. Additionally, a master policy for a condo project tends to be very costly, so it’s unlikely they would be able to obtain one for you with any insurance policy if their interest only covers the area between the walls of a single unit.

You can contact your original lender to see if they have a copy available. In the past, I’ve had former clients get in touch with me, and I was able to retrieve documents for them. I’m not certain how long they retain documents in their systems, but it’s definitely worth trying. I recommend reaching out to the loan officer and processor who assisted you.