Who’s who? The banks, companies and servicers involved with your mortgage

Mortgage Holder. The mortgage holder has the right to foreclose on your house if you do not make your payments. The mortgage holder can be a bank, a company, a trust, or a person that owns the mortgage.

Noteholder: The “noteholder” is the company that owns the right to collect your payments.

Servicer: The company that sends you notices and bills is usually the “Servicer” for the mortgage holder. The mortgage holder hires a servicer to collect payments, process loan modifications and communicate with you about the loan.

Sometimes the mortgage holder, noteholder and servicer are all the same company. Sometimes they are three different companies. After June 22, 2012, in Massachusetts , a company that wants to foreclose must be both the mortgage holder and the noteholder .