Debt Free

If you get a letter in the mail claiming you have unclaimed money, there’s a good chance that you actually do. About 3 years ago I began getting letters indicating I had a substantial sum of money that was waiting for me because of an FHA loan I’d once had, and for a finder’s fee, usually 10% - 25%, they would help me get it. Never having received any correspondence of this type before, I was intrigued by the fact so many of these decided to end up in my mail box at about the same time. The timing and volume of the letters made it appear that I’d gotten myself on a list somewhere, a list that small marketers were using in their direct mail campaigns. In addition, none of the letters came from a company of any size, all were from what looked to be one man or woman shows. 

Being one who spent half my day on the computer, I decided to take a look around the net to see what I could find out. First stop, the federal government’s HUD website. There it was, right on the site’s home page; a link entitled “FHA refunds”. It couldn’t have been easier. Furthermore, about halfway down the page was this gem: “You do not need to pay another person or firm to assist you in collecting your premium refund or distributive share payment.”  All you need to do is enter your SSN or your FHA loan number and they’ll do the rest. You’ll know right away if you’re owed an FHA or HUD refund for insurance you paid, but never used.

To collect your money, you just wait a few weeks after you’ve filled out the online form. An actual paper form will arrive in your mailbox. Fill it out and your check will show up in about 6 – 12 weeks. To make it even better, you saved the finder’s fee you’d have paid someone to do that for you. If you’ve had an FHA mortgage loan, and got it after September 1, 1983, the insurance you payed will be refunded to you as long as you never defaulted on the mortgage. It can be thousands of dollars, but is usually in the hundreds, well worth your time to fill out a simple web form. If you don’t have access to the Internet (how are you reading this?), you can call 1-(800) 697-6967 to speak to a HUD representative.