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Request a written payoff statement from your loan servicer before you send anything: it states the exact amount and a good-through date, because interest accrues daily. Send certified funds, usually a cashier's check, to the servicer's payoff department, not the address on your monthly statement. After it clears, follow up until the lien release is recorded with the county, since the payoff alone does not clear your title.
One honest caveat: LetterAgent cannot send certified funds or enclose a check, so the payoff payment is a mail-it-yourself job. The steps below show how to do it right.
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| 1. Get the payoff statement in writing | Exact amount, good-through date, and accepted payment types, all from the servicer |
| 2. Get certified funds | A cashier's check from your bank, or a wire if the servicer allows it |
| 3. Mail to the payoff department | Not the monthly-coupon address; confirm the payoff address with the servicer directly |
| 4. Track and confirm receipt | Certified Mail or overnight with tracking; call to confirm the payoff was booked |
| 5. Chase the lien release | The satisfaction of mortgage must be recorded with the county; keep the paid-in-full letter |
The number on your monthly statement is stale the day it prints. Interest accrues every day, so the servicer issues a payoff statement with a good-through date: pay by that date and the stated amount settles the loan in full. Miss the date and you owe a little more, which is why borrowers often ask for a good-through date a week or two out and mail the check early. The statement also lists fees the regular balance hides: recording fees, statement fees, and on some older loans a prepayment penalty. None of these show up in the balance you see online, so never guess the payoff amount from your statement.
Certified funds, almost always. A cashier's check from your bank is the standard choice because the funds are the bank's, not yours, and the servicer can trust them. Some servicers also accept a wire transfer, which is faster and worth asking about when you request the payoff statement. Personal checks are routinely rejected for payoffs because the servicer will not release its lien on money that can bounce. Get the acceptable payment types confirmed in writing along with the payoff figure, and keep the bank receipt with the check number stapled to your copy of the payoff statement.
To the payoff department, not the address on your monthly coupon. Loan servicers route regular payments and payoffs through different offices, and a payoff check sent to the payment-processing address can sit unopened or get applied as a regular payment. Call the servicer, ask specifically for the payoff mailing address, and write it down along with the name of the person who gave it to you. Mail it by Certified Mail or an overnight service with tracking, then call a few days after delivery to confirm the payoff was booked to your loan and not just received in a mailroom.
Clearing the balance is only step one. The servicer then has to release its lien, which means recording a satisfaction of mortgage (it goes by different names in different states) with the county where the property sits. Ask for the lien-release timeline in writing when you request the payoff; if the release isn't recorded within a couple of months, call and escalate until it is. Your title isn't clean until that document is on record, and you'll feel it the next time you sell or refinance. Separately, any escrow surplus comes back to you as a refund check, typically within about a month of the payoff, and the final paid-in-full letter goes into your permanent files.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
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