Friday, August 28, 2009

Do You Need a License?

I periodically get calls and emails, asking me if a certain person needs a license for the activities he is doing. Maybe it’s mortgage loan lead generation, sometimes it’s hard money lending or commercial mortgage brokering. My answer is always to read the statutes in your state (or any state in which you wwant to do business)regarding residential mortgage licensing to see if the activity that you are proposing to do fit within the description of a mortgage broker or mortgage lender. Also read the exemptions from licensing. If your activities fit within the definition of “mortgage broker” or “mortgage lender” and you don’t fit within any of the exemptions, you need a license. If your activity is not residential mortgages, also check the statutes for commercial mortgages to see if any such statute exists, whether your activity falls within the definition of mortgage broker or lender and whether you fall within the exemptions. It’s that simple. If you don't understand the language in the statutes, you need to hire someone like me who can explain the statutes to you.

Please feel free to forward this blog post to your colleagues, listserv members or favorite bloggers. Or if you would like to run it (in whole or in part) in any publication or quote from it, simply include my name and URL: http://www.mortgagelicensesolutions.com. No prior permission needed. To inquire about joining my list to receive my blog posts or my availability to speak to your group or write an article for your publication, please email me at Robin@Mortgagelicensesolutions.com. Thank you!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Vermont Sole Proprietor License

Vermont has created a separate broker license for sole proprietors. This means that you don’t have any employees working for you. If you do have employees, then you must obtain a Mortgage Broker Company License. The requirements are that you must be licensed in your home state, you must be in good standing with your home state regulators, you must register a resident agent with the Vermont Secretary of State, and you must purchase a $25,000 surety bond.

Please feel free to forward this blog post to your colleagues, listserv members or favorite bloggers. Or if you would like to run it (in whole or in part) in any publication or quote from it, simply include my name and URL: http://www.mortgagelicensesolutions.com. No prior permission needed. To inquire about joining my list to receive my blog posts or my availability to speak to your group or write an article for your publication, please email me at Robin@Mortgagelicensesolutions.com. Thank you!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Oklahoma Joins the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System

Today is the day that Oklahoma joins the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS). The Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit will no longer accept paper applications for a mortgage broker license. They must apply through the NMLS. Current licensees must create a company record on the NMLS (called an MU1) by December 1, 2009. If your company already has a record on the NMLS because of licensing in another state, you simply add Oklahoma as an additional jurisdiction to your MU1. There will be a late filing penalty of $100 if your company transitions between December 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. After December 31, 2009, your license expires and you will not be able to renew it. You will need to submit a new application. If your company has branch offices, each branch must create a record on the NMLS by completing an MU3 form. The person in charge of each office is called the Qualifying Individual on the MU1. The fee for transitioning your broker license is $350, including the NMLS fee. New licenses cost $1,100.

All existing Oklahoma mortgage loan originators as of July 30, 2009 must transition their licenses prior to December 31, 2009 by completing an MU4. All current loan originators will need to take 20 hours of pre-licensing education, pass an exam, submit a surety bond, submit fingerprints for a criminal background check, and pass a financial background check, including a review of your credit report by December 31, 2009. New applicants for a loan originator license must complete the requirements by December 31, 2010. The license costs $210, which includes the NMLS processing fee, if you transition your loan originator license by December 1, 2009. If you do not make the deadline, there is an additional fee of $100. After December 31, 2009, you need to submit a new application. These fees do not include the cost of fingerprinting and credit report fees. You pay the fee through the NMLS and the fee is nonrefundable.

All of the additional requirements with which loan originators need to comply (pre-licensing education, exam, etc.) are not fully available on the NMLS yet so you will need to keep checking back with the NMLS in order to find out whether each requirement has been added to the NMLS. As updated information about the exam and the pre-licensing courses become available, I will post more information on this blog.

Please feel free to forward this blog post to your colleagues, listserv members or favorite bloggers. Or if you would like to run it (in whole or in part) in any publication or quote from it, simply include my name and URL: http://www.mortgagelicensesolutions.com. No prior permission needed. To inquire about joining my list to receive my blog posts or my availability to speak to your group or write an article for your publication, please email me at Robin@Mortgagelicensesolutions.com. Thank you!