How to Close Loans if Your Renewal License Hasn’t Come Through

I have received a number of phone calls from mortgage broker clients who have submitted renewals of their licenses but either the new license hasn’t been sent out yet or the approval of whether the license would be renewed has not yet been received. Either way, their lenders were refusing to let loans close without a new license. They were asking what they should do so their loans could close.

Many states are not printing new licenses when the old licenses expire. These states have made the decision to save on postage and paper costs and they will never go back to printing paper licenses. But, lenders are acting as if they are not aware of these decisions. If you are licensed in a state that has stopped printing paper licenses, you should look at the state’s licensing database. Many times, the state is updating their database to show which licensees are currently licensed and which licensees have expired licenses. If your state’s database shows that you are currently licensed, many lenders will accept a copy of the database which shows that your license is active. Then, they will let you close loans in that state.

If you are in one of the states which has stopped updating its licensing database, you must ask lenders to call your state’s banking department to confirm that you are licensed. The regulators will not give out letters to each mortgage broker to confirm that it has an active license nor will it give out letters to lenders who want to know whether a specific mortgage has a current license.

What if your renewal license application has not yet been approved? Most states will allow you to close loans while the decision on approving your renewal is pending, if you had submitted your renewal application in a timely manner. If you are licensed in such a state, you too can ask your lenders to call the state regulator to confirm that they permit you to close out your pipeline, while your renewal is pending. Some states also allow you to solicit new business while you are waiting for your license renewal.

Eventually, the public will have access to the NMLS databases, which will make it very easy for lenders to confirm that you are licensed where you say you are licensed. Until that actually happens, the beginning of the new year can be a scramble for mortgage brokers.

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