New Jersey Transitioning to NMLS Starting January 4, 2010

New Jersey will start its transition to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) on January 4, 2010. In the meantime, while they are preparing the transition, the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) is not accepting any new license applications or changes to an existing license.

All current licensees must complete the transition process by April 30, 2010. If you hold an inactive license, you also must transition your license to the NMLS and fulfill all of the requirements under the new law to maintain your license. Mortgage solicitors who are currently registered with DOBI have until May 15, 2010 to transition their registration onto the NMLS and fulfill the new licensing requirements. All existing licenses and registrations expire on July 31, 2010. New Jersey will still require an officer, member, director, partner or owner to maintain an Individual License for each company under the new law.

Companies and mortgage solicitors who have not yet been licensed will start the application process on the NMLS starting January 4, 2010. All licenses that are issued in 2010 will expire on December 31, 2010.

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Florida Mortgage Licenses

Many mortgage brokers and lenders on the East Coast find themselves with customers who ask them if they can do their loan for their condo or house in Florida. You can close that loan only if you are licensed in Florida.

Florida is a relatively easy state to get your license. For companies, they offer 3 levels of licensing – broker, correspondent lender, or mortgage lender. Each of the company licenses requires a principal to have taken 24 hours of classroom education and then to have passed a test. This requirement is not as onerous as it sounds. The classroom education is given by various approved schools in Florida. Many of my clients schedule the classroom work the weekend before the test and take the test the following Tuesday. The classroom work is geared totally towards the exam and so far all of my clients have passed the test on the first try. The principal must also have 1 year of mortgage broker experience.

If you don’t want to deal with minimum net worth requirements or surety bonds, you apply for a mortgage broker business license. The major restriction with the mortgage broker business license is that all of your loan officers must be licensed individual mortgage brokers.

If you need to get certified financial statements for another state anyway, go for the correspondent lender license. You get much higher income from your brokering. But you need to maintain a $10,000 surety bond and show the Florida Department of Financial Regulation that you have $25,000 minimum net worth and that is where the certified financial statement comes in. Mortgage lenders must maintain $250,000 net worth.

There is also a fingerprint requirement, but no in-state office required.