First National Acceptance Co ,First Natl Bank Of America They obtained my husband's and my personal info, without knowing who we are. East Lansing Michigan

First National Acceptance Company has been purchasing private real estate notes for over 50 years.  We hold and service all of the notes that we purchase and never sell them to another investor or financial institution. 

When evaluating whether to purchase any particular note, we take many of the same steps that a bank would do in originating a loan.  The information we receive about the borrower (the person making payments) most often comes from the people who are offering to sell their notes for cash up-front.  This information includes things like how well the payments are being made, etc.

When we purchase a real estate note, nothing changes for the purchaser in terms of the interest rate, payment amount, escrow arrangement (if any), and so on.  The only exception is simply to what address the purchaser sends the future payments which would be to First National rather than to the original seller/lender. 

Also, after we purchase a note, the purchaser receives all of the benefits of paying a regulated bank – i.e. strict privacy protections for customers, the ability to pay by phone or through the web, and having their payments reported to the credit bureau.  (This reporting can help them establish better credit and allow them to receive conventional financing in the future.) 

Purchasing private real estate notes is a business that has been around for many years and First National Acceptance Company has become one of the largest, most respected note buyers in the country.

I have been researching this company to see if I would like to do business with them.

Regarding your complaint, however, most states (and in some federal regulations) allow the sale of real estate securities (which is what your owner-financing arrangement is/was) from the orignal owner to whichever financial institution is interested in buying them.

They do not need permission to secure a credit report, or the purchaser's agreement of the sale in order to close such a deal.  Only if the original sales contract between you and the original seller prohibited the sale of the contract might the purchase of it be voidable.

It seems sneaky because they obtained personal information and you now pay them instead of the original seller who was an actual person, someone with a face to do business with, but in truth the original seller was functioning as a bank and was in all liklihood within legal rights of selling the security (although Texas has some funny regulations in place regarding seller financing).  Most of the time, no financing data appears on any deed, as it is simply a document of conveyance, and is public information once it is filed with a county clerk or similar office.  The original seller would have had to furnish this data to the purchasing company in order for them to assess risk and determine whether they wanted to buy the note.

As an example, with the recent financial meltdown in the country (Thank You Congress), a friend of mine has had - within the past two years - three (3) different lending institutions as owners of his mortgage.  The only thing he received was a letter stating that the new owner was so-and-so, and where to send his payments.