Midwest Loan Services is a nationwide mortgage subservicer based in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1992, and operating as a DBA (doing business as) of University Bank. The company handles the back-end work of mortgage loan servicing — collecting payments, managing escrow, processing tax and insurance disbursements, and answering borrower questions — on behalf of credit unions, community banks, and other lenders that don’t want to do it in-house.

If your name is on a mortgage with a small lender, credit union, or community bank, there’s a reasonable chance your monthly payments are processed by Midwest Loan Services even though your loan is technically held by the original lender. This is called subservicing, and it’s a common arrangement that often surprises borrowers when they see an unfamiliar name on their statement.

Quick Facts

Item Detail
Founded 1992
Headquarters Houghton, Michigan
Parent University Bank (Michigan, Member FDIC)
NMLS ID 715685
Servicing portfolio Over $20 billion in mortgage loans
Clients Credit unions, community banks, private investors
Employees 51–200 range

What Midwest Loan Services Does

Function What It Means for You as a Borrower
Payment processing They collect your monthly mortgage payment
Escrow management They handle your tax and insurance escrow account
Customer service You call them with questions, not your original lender
Statement issuance The monthly statement and Form 1098 come from them
Default management They handle delinquencies and forbearance requests
Compliance They keep the loan administration in line with federal rules

Importantly, they don’t own the loan. Your loan is still legally held by your original lender or whoever the loan was sold to. Midwest just handles the operational work.

Why Lenders Use a Subservicer

Mortgage servicing is operationally heavy. It requires specialized technology, regulatory expertise, call centers, escrow accounting, and default management capabilities. For a small credit union or community bank, building all of that in-house is expensive and risky relative to the size of their portfolio.

Outsourcing to a subservicer like Midwest gets them: lower per-loan servicing cost, compliance handled by a specialist, established technology platform, and default management expertise.

For borrowers, the trade-off is one extra layer between you and your original lender. Your relationship with the credit union or bank is intact, but day-to-day mortgage interactions happen with Midwest.

Common Questions From Borrowers

“Why am I getting statements from Midwest if my loan is with my credit union?” Because your credit union outsourced servicing. The loan is still your credit union’s; Midwest just runs the administrative side.

“Is this the same company that sold my loan?” No. Servicing transfers don’t mean the loan was sold. Loan ownership and the servicing company can be — and often are — different.

“Where do I send payments?” To Midwest, at the address on your monthly statement. Sending to the original lender will cause processing delays.

“Where do I get my 1098 for taxes?” From Midwest, since they’re the one tracking interest paid during the year.

How to Verify You’re Dealing With Them

If you got a notice that your loan servicing was transferred and you’re not sure if it’s legitimate:

  • Check the NMLS Consumer Access database (NMLS ID 715685)
  • Verify the address — Houghton or Hancock, Michigan
  • Call your original lender directly to confirm the transfer
  • Watch for unusual signs — pressure, requests for personal info beyond what’s normal, payment redirection to unfamiliar accounts

Legitimate servicing transfers come with a written notice (Goodbye letter from old servicer, Hello letter from new servicer), and the transfer doesn’t change your loan terms in any way.

Their Track Record

Midwest has been in continuous operation since 1992, making them one of the longer-tenured subservicers in the industry. As part of University Bank (an FDIC-insured Michigan institution), they’re subject to federal banking regulation in addition to state mortgage servicing rules.

Borrower reviews are mixed in the way most mortgage servicers’ reviews are mixed — operationally simple borrowers usually have unremarkable experiences; complications (escrow disputes, payment errors, defaults) generate frustrated reviews. This is typical of any servicer at scale.

Bottom Line

Midwest Loan Services is a long-established mortgage subservicer that handles the operational side of mortgage loans for hundreds of smaller lenders nationwide. If their name shows up on your statement, your loan is still owned by the lender you originally borrowed from — Midwest just runs the day-to-day administration. For questions about your loan, they’re the right first point of contact, and they’re a legitimate, regulated company you can verify through public records.