I was told that if the fee for recording satisfactions was not taken out at the time of the loan or disclosed at payoff, the bank had to pay it. A customer just paid off their loan and was not given the fee until after the payoff. he was very upset that he had to pay this. Were we legal in doing this?

We include the recording fee in the payoff letter and show it as such. Prior to this, we just sent the satisfaction to the borrower with a cover letter instructing them to record it. You can imagine how well that worked!

While IMO it was "legal" to charge your customer the fee, I doubt it was worth loosing a customer over the $6+.

We send it to the bank that paid us off, or to the customer with instruction. We have never included it in the payoff but many around here do. It is legal to send it and make them pay the fee to the best of my knowledge.

We had to reissue way too many sats 1-3 years after payoff when a new title commitment would show that the original never got recorded. Just too much work to go back and verify and reissue. Much easier to add $6 onto the payoff and send it directly to be recorded.

Recording must be cheap in your county. Here it's $11 for a one page satisfaction.

We do mortgages in numerous states so the fees are all over the place. Bottom line, it's nbd to add the fee to the payoff and better business, I think, to finish our customer service on an account by sending the sat directly to the recorder with a return to the borrower.

I thought in Wisconsin we had 30 days to release a mortgage - by law. Leaving it in the customers hands would be dangerous if that is the case?

If the real estate transaction falls within the Wisconsin Consumer Act, ie a true second mortgage, then I believe DFI-Bkg 80.352 governs the transaction. This administrative code states “…1) recording the necessary instrument and forwarding the same to the customer or designee by mail or by return on the instrument or 2) by delivering the necessary instrument fully completed and executed to the customer’s designee, but in no instance to the customer, for recording.”

A first mortgage falls within Statute 428.104(1) “…Upon payment in full of the customer’s obligation, the creditor shall release any mortgage by either recording the necessary instrument and forwarding the same to the customer, or by forwarding a satisfaction of such debt to the purchaser of the real property subject to such satisfied mortgage, or the creditor of such purchaser.”

We typically charge the customer the fee for filing the satisfaction at the time a loan payoff is quoted. If we miss adding to the fee to the payoff statement, then the bank satisfies the mortgage and provides the filed document to the customer.

I know this is late, but I had the reference at my fingertips so I thought I would post it.

WI statutes 706.05 (10)
(a) Unless otherwise requested in writing or unless par. (b) applies, a mortgage-holder shall execute and record a proper full satisfaction of a mortgage, together with any instruments required to establish of record the right of th mortgagor to satisfy the mortgage, within 30 days after the date on which the mortgagor completes full performance of the conditions of the mortgage.

(b) A mortgage-holder shall execute and record a mortgage satisfaction as required under par. (a) within 7 days after both the mortgagor completes full performance and the mortgage holder receives by certified mail a written request from the mortgagor for a full satisfaction.

(c) Any person who violates par. (b) is liable to the mortgagor for penalty damages of $100 for each day that the violation remains uncorrected, up to a total of $2,000, plus actual damages resulting from the violation. A person may not be held liable for actual damages unless the mortgagor paid the costs that are to be compensated.

(d) A mortgage-holder may charge a mortgagor for the cost of fees paid in recording the satisfaction.