Florida · §701.04Florida mortgage estoppel letter: the payoff in 10 days and the release in 60

When a Florida home with a mortgage is sold, the closing agent needs the seller's payoff, which Florida law calls an estoppel letter. Under Florida Statutes §701.04(1), within 10 days after receiving a written request from the mortgagor, a record title owner, a fiduciary or trustee acting for an owner, or another person lawfully authorized to act for them, the mortgagee or servicer must send an estoppel letter stating the unpaid balance – itemized into principal, interest and other charges as of a stated date – plus the per-day interest after that date. A request from someone other than the mortgagor must include proof of their title or authority, and the servicer must notify the mortgagor. Requests can go by first-class mail (counted as received five business days after mailing), common carrier (received when delivered), or e-mail, fax or the servicer's automated system (received the day sent). Except where a foreclosure lis pendens or a suggestion of bankruptcy has been recorded, the servicer may not qualify, reserve the right to change, or disclaim reliance on the letter. If it finds an error it may send a corrected letter, which supersedes the earlier one only if received by 3 p.m. at least one business day before payment is issued in reliance on the earlier letter; otherwise, the servicer can't deny the accuracy of the information against anyone who relied on it, though it can still pursue the borrower for any amount left out. A payment made in reliance on the letter, at the place and in the manner the servicer specified, must be accepted and applied. Within 60 days after the loan is fully paid or paid according to an estoppel letter, the servicer must sign a release of the mortgage, have it acknowledged, send it for recording in the county's official records and send the recorded release to the mortgagor or record owner; the prevailing party in a suit to enforce this gets reasonable attorney fees (§701.04(2)). The release doesn't end the borrower's personal liability on the loan.