37. Appendix A1: Instructions for Completing Qualified Written Request
Copyright 2009 Legal Services of New Jersey
APPENDIX A1
Instructions for Completing Qualified Written Request (QWR)
Use this form if you never got copies of your loan documents at closing or if you cannot find
your loan documents. Also use this form if you think the servicer made a mistake with your
account. This form also asks the servicer to identify the current holder of the Note. This process
comes from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. §2605(e).
1. On the top right of the form, fill in your address and the date.
2. In the spaces provides, fill in the number of the return receipt form from the post office
that you will use with this letter.
3. Below the return receipt number, fill in the customer service address for the servicer, not
the address where you send payments. If you do not have the customer service address,
call the servicer and ask.
4. Below the line that says “QUALIFIED WRITTEN REQUEST,” fill in your account
number, your name, and the property address.
5. If you think that the servicer made a mistake in your account—for example, by charging
you fees you don’t owe, by failing to credit you for a payment, or by charging the wrong
amount of interest—write your dispute on the blank lines provided. Be clear and specific.
6. Sign the letter.
7. Make a photocopy of the QWR for your records. A handwritten copy of the form is not
enough.
8. Mail the original QWR form to the servicer by certified mail, return receipt requested.
9. Save your copy of the letter and your certified mail receipt in a safe place. When the
green return receipt comes back to you in the mail, put it together with the letter and
receipt.
10. Wait for the servicer to respond. The servicer has 20 days to let you know your request
was received. The servicer has 60 days (not including Saturday, Sunday, or legal
holidays) to investigate and send you documents and respond to your dispute.
11. When you receive the lender’s response, look through the documents to make sure you
got everything you asked for. If anything is missing, write back to the servicer, telling the
servicer that its response was incomplete and asking for the missing documents.
12. If the servicer fails to respond, you have the right to bring a lawsuit against the servicer
for damages, costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
38. Appendix A2: Qualified Written Request
Copyright 2009 Legal Services of New Jersey
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Date: _______________________________
Via Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested #_________________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Re: QUALIFED WRITTEN REQUEST
Account # _______________________________________
Borrower(s): _____________________________________
Property Address: ________________________________
Dear Sir/Madam:
I hereby request copies of the entire closing file for my loan. Please treat this letter as a
“Qualified Written Request” under the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. 2605(e).
Please send me the entire loan file, including but not limited to the documents listed below:
1) Loan Application
2) Commitment Letter
3) Note
4) Mortgage
5) HUD Settlement Statement
6) Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs
7) TILA Disclosures
8) TILA Notices of Right to Cancel
9) Any other closing documents
I am also requesting a full payment history and any other documents showing loan disbursements,
loan charges, payments made, and current principal balance due. Please include the date and purpose of
any fees and costs that have been charged to my account. Please show the dates of my payments and the
way they were applied or credited to my account.
I believe that there is an error in the servicing of my account. Specifically,
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Finally, please identify the current holder of the note and the address of same.
Please contact me if you have any questions with reference to the above. Thank you for your
prompt attention to this matter.
Very truly yours,
39. Appendix B: Loan Terms Worksheet
Copyright 2009 Legal Services of New Jersey
APPENDIX B
Loan Terms Worksheet
Principal Amount: ______________
Interest Rate: ______% Fixed OR ______% Adjustable
Starting interest rate: ______% Current interest rate: ______%
First interest rate change date: __________ How often does the interest rate adjust?
First payment change date: __________ How often does the payment date change?
Lowest possible interest rate: __________ Highest possible interest rate:_____%
Exotic Features:
___ Teaser rate ___ Negative aAmortization
___ Balloon payment ___ Interest only
___ Payment option ___ No income no asset verification
Initial monthly payment: ________________ Current monthly payment: __________________
Are taxes and insurance escrowed?
Taxes: __________________
Insurance: __________________
40. Appendix C1: Instructions for Completing TILA Rescission Notice—Page 1 of 2
Copyright 2009 Legal Services of New Jersey
APPENDIX C1
Instructions for Completing TILA Rescission Notice
Use this form (a) if your loan is a refinance (not the loan you used to buy your house),
(b) if you signed the mortgage documents less than three years ago, and (c) you think the lender
did not comply with the Truth in Lending Act.
To figure out whether the lender complied with the Truth in Lending Act, you or an
attorney must review your mortgage documents.
Check whether the lender gave you:
___ A paper called a Truth in Lending Disclosure Statement.
___ A paper that says “Itemization of Amount Financed” listing the fees that the
lender charged (not the Good Faith Estimate and not the Settlement Statement).
___ If there is no “Itemization of Amount Financed,” did the lender tell you in the
mortgage documents that you have the right to request one?
___ Two copies of a Notice of Right to Cancel for each person whose name is on the
deed (even if not all of the people signed the note and mortgage). If you did get
Notices of Right to Cancel, do they contain all of the necessary information:
___ Is the date of the closing correct?
___ Is the date to cancel three business days later, including Saturdays but not
including Sundays or legal holidays?
If any of the above are missing or incorrect, you may have the legal right to rescind
(cancel) the loan.
You may also have the right to rescind the loan if the lender improperly failed to disclose
finance charges. It is best to have an attorney review this issue for you. If you have no attorney,
you can try to look for improper disclosures on your own.
___ Were you overcharged for recording fees? Check with the County Clerk to find
out how much the lender paid to record your mortgage. Compare that number to the amount you
were actually charged. That number is listed on the Settlement Statement that you receive when
you got the loan.
___ Were you overcharged for title insurance? If this loan was a refinance, you should
have been charged less than the cost of title insurance on a purchase.
To complete the sample rescission letter:
1. On the top right of the form, fill in your address and the date.
2. In the spaces provided, fill in the number of the return receipt form from the post office
that you will use with this letter.
41. Appendix C1: Instructions for Completing TILA Rescission Notice—Page 2 of 2
Copyright 2009 Legal Services of New Jersey
3. Below the return receipt number, fill in the address for the holder of the note if you have
it. Otherwise, address the letter to the customer service address for the lender or to the
attorney representing the lender if you are in foreclosure.
4. Below the line that says “TRUTH IN LENDING RESCISSION NOTICE,” fill in your
name, the property address, and the account number.
5. On the lines provided in the first paragraph of the letter, fill in the name of the lender and
the date you signed the loan papers.
6. Sign the letter.
7. Make a photocopy of the letter for your records. A handwritten copy of the form is not
enough.
8. Mail the original letter by certified mail, return receipt requested.
9. Save your copy of the letter and your certified mail receipt in a safe place. When the
green return receipt comes back to you in the mail, put it together with the letter and
receipt.
10. You may or may not receive a response to your letter. If you do not receive a response, or
if you receive a response denying you the right to rescind, put that information into your
Answer, Defenses, and Counterclaims in the appropriate sections.
42. Appendix C2: Truth in Lending Act Rescission Notice
Copyright 2009 Legal Services of New Jersey
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Date: ___________________________________
Via Regular and Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested #__________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
RE: TRUTH IN LENDING ACT RESCISSION NOTICE
NAME: ______________________________________
ADDRESS: ___________________________________
ACCOUNT NO.: _______________________________
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to you about the above-referenced loan transaction, which I entered into with
____________________on or about ____________________. Please be advised that I hereby
rescind the transaction pursuant to the Federal Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1635,
Regulation Z § 226.23. I am entitled to rescind the loan because required material disclosures
were not provided or were provided incorrectly.
If you are the servicer of the loan or another agent of the holder, please forward this notice to
the holder of the note and mortgage. Please let me know right away if you are neither the holder
nor the servicer.
The security interest granted as part of this transaction is void upon your receipt of this letter
by operation of law. See 15 U.S.C. § 1635, Regulation Z § 226.23. Pursuant to the Regulation,
the holder of the security interest has 20 days after receipt of this notice of rescission to return to
me all monies paid and to take action necessary or appropriate to reflect termination of the
security interest. Please be advised that if the security interest is not canceled and if all the
consideration I paid is not returned to me as required by law, I will have no choice but to seek
actual and statutory damages pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1640(a).
Kindly notify me in writing that the security interest has been canceled, and that the
consideration paid will be returned immediately. Thank you for your attention and cooperation.
Very truly yours,
43. Appendix D1: Instructions for Filing an Answer with Defenses and Counterclaims—Page 1 of 4
Copyright 2009 Legal Services of New Jersey
APPENDIX D1
Instructions for Filing an Answer with Defenses and Counterclaims
An Answer is your response to a Complaint. It is the first step in challenging a
foreclosure. It must be filed within 35 days of the date you receive the Complaint. If you did not
file an Answer within 35 days of receiving the complaint and a default or default judgment has
entered against you, you must get a court order allowing you to file an Answer. Instructions for
filing a Motion (request) to be permitted to file a late Answer are included in Appendix E to this
manual. The completed Answer should be included with your Motion.
I. CONTESTING ANSWER, DEFENSES AND COUNTERCLAIMS
In order to prepare the Answer, you need to have a copy of the Complaint in front of you.
You can use the sample in this manual or you can prepare your own. In this manual, it is
Appendix D2, the document that says Contesting Answer, Defenses and Counterclaims.
A. Caption
Using the sample Answer in this manual, first prepare the top of the form, called the
“caption.” You can find the information you need on the top of the foreclosure complaint.
• Fill in your name, address, and telephone number.
• Copy the name of the plaintiff from the foreclosure complaint.
• Copy the name of the defendant from the foreclosure complaint.
• Insert the name of the county.
• Copy the Docket Number from the foreclosure complaint.
B. Contesting Answer
You must answer each allegation (paragraph) in the foreclosure complaint one by one, by
either admitting that the allegation is true, denying it, or stating that you don’t have enough
information to answer. Read each paragraph of the Complaint carefully. In your Answer, admit
those paragraphs that you are completely sure are totally true. Deny those that are totally false.
You can admit some parts of a paragraph and deny other parts of the same paragraph. If you are
not sure whether an allegation is true, say so. Do not simply admit or deny it.
C. Defenses
There are many defenses to a foreclosure. The sample Answer only contains a few of
them. The defenses in the sample Answer may or may not apply to you. If any defense in the
sample Answer does not apply to you, cross it out.
This manual explained the Truth in Lending Act and provided a sample letter for you to
use (Appendix C2) in order to rescind your mortgage. If you think your lender violated the Truth
in Lending Act and you used that letter, be sure to include the date of your letter in the space
provided.