Title company sent deed & mortgage, lost original promissory note, unresolved after multiple requests

Posting this as a cautionary tale for anyone doing owner/seller financing.

We closed an owner-financed transaction through Schaefer Douglas in Maine. After closing, they sent us the original deed and original mortgage, but never delivered the original wet-ink promissory note. That’s a critical problem — the promissory note is the negotiable instrument required to enforce or sell the loan.

A few months later we attempted to sell the note, and every buyer required the original. Deal stopped.

Then, adding to the concern, the same title company later mailed us another client’s owner’s and lender’s title insurance documents by mistake.

We’ve contacted them multiple times asking them to correct this, but it still hasn’t been resolved. My wife and I are both real estate agents, and based on this experience we won’t be using or referring this title company. We’re hopeful this can be fixed without lawyers, but this has been a costly and frustrating situation that others should be aware of.

submitted by /u/Lost_Arrival_5723
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1qaicbc/title_company_sent_deed_mortgage_lost_original/