CS for SB 1016                                   First Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       20221016e1
       
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to mortgage payoff letters; amending
    3         s. 701.04, F.S.; revising the timeframe within which a
    4         mortgagee or mortgage servicer must send or cause to
    5         be sent an estoppel letter containing specified
    6         information; revising the circumstances under which a
    7         copy of the instrument showing title in the property
    8         or other lawful authorization must be included in a
    9         request for an estoppel letter; requiring notice to
   10         the mortgagor of a request for an estoppel letter
   11         under certain circumstances; revising requirements for
   12         an estoppel letter; prohibiting certain actions by the
   13         mortgagee or mortgage servicer; authorizing the
   14         mortgagee or mortgage servicer to send a corrected
   15         estoppel letter under certain circumstances; requiring
   16         a mortgagee or mortgage servicer to provide a copy of
   17         a corrected estoppel letter to a mortgagor under
   18         certain circumstances; providing that a corrected
   19         estoppel letter supersedes any previous estoppel
   20         letter under certain circumstances; prohibiting the
   21         mortgagee or mortgage servicer from denying the
   22         accuracy of certain information provided in an
   23         estoppel letter under certain circumstances; providing
   24         construction; prohibiting payments received pursuant
   25         to an estoppel letter from being returned and
   26         requiring such payments to be promptly applied to any
   27         unpaid balance of the loan properly due under or
   28         secured by a mortgage; providing methods for sending a
   29         written request for an estoppel letter and for sending
   30         an estoppel letter; providing that the mortgagee or
   31         mortgage servicer is not required to pay for a common
   32         carrier delivery service; requiring the mortgagee or
   33         mortgage servicer to take certain actions within a
   34         specified time after the unpaid balance of a loan
   35         properly secured by a mortgage has been fully paid or
   36         paid pursuant to an estoppel letter; authorizing
   37         reasonable attorney fees and costs; providing that
   38         certain persons may still be personally liable after
   39         the recording of a release of a mortgage; conforming
   40         provisions to changes made by the act; amending s.
   41         701.041, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
   42         “estoppel letter”; conforming provisions to changes
   43         made by the act; providing legislative findings;
   44         providing for retroactive applicability; providing an
   45         effective date.
   46          
   47  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   48  
   49         Section 1. Section 701.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   50  read:
   51         701.04 Cancellation of mortgages, liens, and judgments.—
   52         (1)(a) Within 10 14 days after receipt of the written
   53  request of a mortgagor, a record title owner of the property, a
   54  fiduciary or trustee lawfully acting on behalf of a record title
   55  owner, or any other person lawfully authorized to act on behalf
   56  of a mortgagor or record title owner of the property, the
   57  mortgagee holder of a mortgage shall deliver or mortgage cause
   58  the servicer shall send or cause to be sent of the mortgage to
   59  deliver to the person making the request at a place designated
   60  in the written request an estoppel letter setting forth the
   61  unpaid balance of the loan secured by the mortgage. If the
   62  written request is made by a person other than the mortgagor,
   63  the request must include a copy of the instrument showing such
   64  person’s title in the property or other lawful authorization,
   65  and the mortgagee or mortgage servicer must notify the mortgagor
   66  of the request.
   67         (a)If the mortgagor, or any person lawfully authorized to
   68  act on behalf of the mortgagor, makes the request, the estoppel
   69  letter must include an itemization of the principal, interest,
   70  and any other charges properly due under or secured by the
   71  mortgage and interest on a per-day basis for the unpaid balance.
   72         (b) If a record title owner of the property, or any person
   73  lawfully authorized to act on behalf of a mortgagor or record
   74  title owner of the property, makes the request:
   75         1.The request must include a copy of the instrument
   76  showing title in the property or lawful authorization.
   77         2. The estoppel letter may include the itemization of
   78  information required under paragraph (a), but must at a minimum
   79  include:
   80         1. The total unpaid balance of the loan due under or
   81  secured by the mortgage as of the date specified in the estoppel
   82  letter, including an itemization of the principal, interest, and
   83  any other charges comprising the unpaid balance; and
   84         2.Interest accruing on a per-day basis for the unpaid
   85  balance from and after the date specified in the estoppel
   86  letter, if applicable.
   87         (c)1. Except for mortgages for which a notice of lis
   88  pendens in a foreclosure action or a suggestion of bankruptcy
   89  has been properly filed and recorded, the mortgagee or mortgage
   90  servicer may not qualify, reserve the right to change, or
   91  condition or disclaim the reliance of others on the information
   92  provided in an estoppel letter under paragraph (b), and any
   93  attempt to do so is void and unenforceable. However, if the
   94  mortgagee or mortgage servicer determines that any of the
   95  information provided in the estoppel letter under paragraph (b)
   96  was inaccurate, the mortgagee or mortgage servicer may send a
   97  corrected estoppel letter to the person who requested the
   98  estoppel letter in the same manner as used to respond to the
   99  original written request. If the original written request is
  100  made by a person other than the mortgagor, the mortgagee or
  101  mortgage servicer must also provide a copy of any corrected
  102  estoppel letter to the mortgagor.
  103         2. If the person who requested the original estoppel letter
  104  under subparagraph (f)1. receives a corrected estoppel letter by
  105  3 p.m. in such person’s time zone at least 1 business day before
  106  a payment is issued in reliance on the previous estoppel letter,
  107  the corrected estoppel letter supersedes all prior estoppel
  108  letters.
  109         3. If any of the information provided in the estoppel
  110  letter under paragraph (b) was inaccurate, but the person who
  111  requested the estoppel letter did not timely receive a corrected
  112  estoppel letter as provided in subparagraph 2., the mortgagee or
  113  mortgage servicer may not deny the accuracy of such information
  114  as against any person who relied on it. This subparagraph does
  115  not affect the right of a mortgagee to recover any sum that it
  116  did not include in an estoppel letter from any person liable for
  117  payment of the loan or other obligations secured by the
  118  mortgage, nor does it limit any claim or defense to recovery
  119  that such person may have at law or in equity on a per-day
  120  basis.
  121         (d)3. The mortgagee or mortgage servicer of the mortgagee
  122  acting in accordance with a request in substantial compliance
  123  with this subsection paragraph is expressly discharged from any
  124  obligation or liability to any person on account of the release
  125  of the requested information, other than the obligation to
  126  comply with the terms of the estoppel letter.
  127         (e) If a payment is received at the location and in the
  128  manner specified by the mortgagee or mortgage servicer, the
  129  mortgagee or mortgage servicer must accept and may not return
  130  any payment received in reliance on an estoppel letter and must
  131  promptly apply such payment to the unpaid balance of the loan
  132  properly due under or secured by the mortgage.
  133         (f)1. A written request for an estoppel letter under
  134  paragraph (a) must be sent to the mortgagee or mortgage servicer
  135  by first-class mail, postage prepaid; by common carrier delivery
  136  service; or by e-mail, facsimile, or other electronic means at
  137  the address made available by the mortgagee or mortgage servicer
  138  for such purpose or through an automated system provided by the
  139  mortgagee or mortgage servicer for requesting an estoppel
  140  letter. The written request is considered received by the
  141  mortgagee or mortgage servicer:
  142         a. Five business days after the request sent by first-class
  143  mail is deposited with the United States Postal Service;
  144         b. The day the request is delivered by a common carrier
  145  delivery service; or
  146         c. The day the request is sent by e-mail, facsimile, or
  147  other electronic means or through an automated system provided
  148  by the mortgagee or mortgage servicer for requesting an estoppel
  149  letter.
  150  
  151  If any of the days in sub-subparagraph a., sub-subparagraph b.,
  152  or sub-subparagraph c. falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
  153  holiday under the laws of this state or the United States, the
  154  request for an estoppel letter is considered timely received by
  155  the mortgagee or mortgage servicer on the next business day.
  156         2. The mortgagee or mortgage servicer must send an estoppel
  157  letter by first-class mail; by common carrier delivery service;
  158  or by e-mail, facsimile, or other electronic means, as directed
  159  in the written request, or through an automated system provided
  160  by the mortgagee or mortgage servicer for this purpose. However,
  161  the mortgagee or mortgage servicer is not required to pay for a
  162  common carrier delivery service. If the 10-day period after a
  163  written request is received by the mortgagee or mortgage
  164  servicer ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday under the
  165  laws of this state or the United States, the estoppel letter is
  166  considered timely if it is sent by the close of business on the
  167  next business day.
  168         (g)(c)Notwithstanding s. 655.059, a mortgagee or mortgage
  169  servicer mortgage holder may provide the financial information
  170  required under this subsection to a person authorized under this
  171  subsection to request the financial information notwithstanding
  172  s. 655.059.
  173         (2)(a) Within 60 days after the unpaid balance of a loan
  174  secured by a mortgage has been fully paid or paid pursuant to an
  175  estoppel letter under subsection (1), whichever is earlier, the
  176  mortgagee or mortgage servicer shall execute in writing an
  177  instrument acknowledging release of the mortgage; have the
  178  instrument acknowledged, or proven, and send it or cause it to
  179  be sent for recording in the official records of the proper
  180  county; and send or cause to be sent the recorded release to the
  181  mortgagor or record title owner of the property. The prevailing
  182  party in a civil action brought against the mortgagee or
  183  mortgage servicer to enforce the requirements of this paragraph
  184  is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs.
  185         (b) The recorded release of the mortgage does not relieve
  186  the mortgagor, or the mortgagor’s successors or assigns, from
  187  any personal liability on the loan or other obligations
  188  previously secured by the mortgage.
  189         (3)(2) Whenever the amount of money due on a any mortgage,
  190  lien, or judgment has been fully paid to the person or party
  191  entitled to the payment thereof, the mortgagee, creditor, or
  192  assignee, or the attorney of record in the case of a judgment,
  193  to whom the payment was made, shall execute in writing an
  194  instrument acknowledging satisfaction of the mortgage, lien, or
  195  judgment and have the instrument acknowledged, or proven, and
  196  duly entered in the official records of the proper county.
  197  Within 60 days after the date of receipt of the full payment of
  198  the mortgage, lien, or judgment, the person required to
  199  acknowledge satisfaction of the mortgage, lien, or judgment
  200  shall send or cause to be sent the recorded satisfaction to the
  201  person who has made the full payment. In the case of a civil
  202  action regarding a lien or judgment arising out of this section,
  203  the prevailing party is entitled to attorney fees and costs.
  204         (4)(3)When Whenever a writ of execution has been issued,
  205  docketed, and indexed with a sheriff and the judgment upon which
  206  it was issued has been fully paid, it is the responsibility of
  207  the person party receiving payment to request, in writing,
  208  addressed to the sheriff, return of the writ of execution as
  209  fully satisfied.
  210         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection
  211  (2) of section 701.041, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  212         701.041 Title insurer; mortgage release certificate.—
  213         (1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
  214         (a) “Estoppel letter” means a statement containing, at a
  215  minimum, the information required in s. 701.04(1)(b) of the
  216  amount of:
  217         1.The unpaid balance of a loan secured by a mortgage,
  218  including principal, interest, and any other charges properly
  219  due under or secured by the mortgage.
  220         2.Interest on a per-day basis for the unpaid balance.
  221         (2) CERTIFICATE OF RELEASE.—An officer or duly appointed
  222  agent of a title insurer may, on behalf of a mortgagor or a
  223  person who acquired from the mortgagor title to all or a part of
  224  the property described in a mortgage, execute a certificate of
  225  release that complies with the requirements of this section and
  226  record the certificate of release in the real property records
  227  of each county in which the mortgage is recorded if a
  228  satisfaction or release of the mortgage has not been executed
  229  and recorded after the date payment in full of the loan properly
  230  due under or secured by the mortgage was made in accordance with
  231  an estoppel letter a payoff statement furnished by the mortgagee
  232  or the mortgage servicer.
  233         Section 3. The Legislature finds that the timeliness and
  234  accuracy of an estoppel letter is critical because the parties
  235  to a real estate transaction must rely on the estoppel letter to
  236  establish the loan payoff amount necessary to release the
  237  mortgage, which in turn will allow the owner to confer clean
  238  title to a buyer or to refinance the property. The Legislature
  239  further finds that estoppel letters increasingly contain
  240  conditional language disclaiming the ability of an owner to rely
  241  on the stated loan payoff amounts, extending even to the return
  242  of such payments submitted by owners, creating unnecessary
  243  delays in the efficient operation of this state’s real estate
  244  market, which is a vital economic contributor to this state, and
  245  imposing needless costs and burdens on property owners and
  246  buyers. In addition, the Legislature finds that real estate
  247  lending, mortgages, real estate transactions, and estoppel
  248  letters are extensively regulated under both Florida and federal
  249  law. The Legislature finds and determines that this act makes
  250  changes to state law that appropriately balance the parties’
  251  interests, are reasonable and necessary to serve and achieve an
  252  important state interest, are necessary for the prosperity and
  253  welfare of the state and its property owners and inhabitants,
  254  and must be applied to existing mortgages in order to provide
  255  effective relief.
  256         Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2022, and
  257  applies to all mortgages existing as of that date and entered
  258  into on or after that date, as well as to all loans secured by
  259  such mortgages.