California DOC, Montana, Oregon, Utah DRE, and Texas SML all have NMLS transition deadlines at the end of this month (May). From the NMLS website, here is a summary of what it looks like mortgage loan originators will need to do in each state in order to stay in compliance.
 
•California: Licensees holding a California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (CRMLA) license have until May 28, 2010 to complete and submit through NMLS a Form MU1 for their company and a Form MU2 for each of their control persons. California mortgage loan originators must meet the requirements of passing the national and California components of the SAFE Act mortgage test, passing the criminal background check including finger prints, authorizing the NMLS to obtain a credit report, and being sponsored in NMLS by their company by May 28, 2010 in order to be licensed by July 31, 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve just received word that ProSchools is approved to offer the 20-Hour Idaho SAFE Comprehensive Course, meeting the NMLS education requirements for Idaho mortgage loan originators! Under the new law, Idaho mortgage loan originator must complete 20 hours of NMLS-approved prelicense education, pass the NMLS exam, complete a background check, and demonstrate financial responsibility.

Here’s a quick summary of Idaho’s plan: Read the rest of this entry »

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Just heard from someone at the Pennsylvania Department of Banking that the amendments to the Mortgage Licensing Act were signed by the Governor yesterday (8/5/09).  House Bill 1654 amends Pennsylvania’s existing mortgage licensing law and is now titled the Mortgage Licensing Act (“MLA”).

All loan originators in Pennsylvania will need 20 hours of NMLS–approved education by December 31, 2009, as part of meeting the new SAFE Act.  The 20 hours must include 3 hours of federal law & regs, 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours of lending standards for the non-traditional mortgage marketplace, 3 hours of Pennsylvania law & regs, and 9 hours related to the mortgage industry. Read the rest of this entry »

That is the question I posed to one of the Senior Examiner’s for the Iowa Division of Banking (IDB) recently. Iowa Senate File 355 for mortgage loan originators says as of July 31st new loan originators are to take an NMLS approved 20 Hour IA SAFE Comprehensive course. However, the NMLS is not expected to have any courses approved until mid-August.

One option being purposed is all IDB courses continue to be approved until the end of the year. This would allow for a transition period where loan originators could take either the NMLS-approved course or the state-approved course.

The other option is to allow loan originators to take the state-approved course, but only until the NMLS approved 20 Hour IA SAFE Comprehensive course is available. Either option has to be approved and put in the Iowa Rules so it is a waiting game.

The good news is we were assured that anyone taking a state-approved loan originator training course, such as ProSchools’ currently approved Iowa course, will have their 20 hours certified by the state. ProSchools submitted the 20 Hour IA SAFE Comprehensive course to the NMLS on July 16th so we expect an approval back by mid-August.

In answer to the question, are we there yet? Almost! Last week we received official word that ProSchools is approved as an NMLS provider!

The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act) requires anyone wanting to offer NMLS courses must first become an “NMLS Approved” course provider.  Step one: done!

Next, all education courses for loan originators must be approved by the NMLS. This applies to both prelicense and continuing education courses. The NMLS is accepting course submissions from approved providers as of today, July 15.  It is expected to take approximately 30 days for course approval, although NMLS expects a limited number of prelicense courses approved by late July. Read the rest of this entry »

I am starting to get calls from nervous loan originators in Iowa, asking how to meet the new SAFE Act requirements for many in the mortgage lending industry.

According to a representative of the Iowa Division of Banking Finance, one of the first states to have set some specific deadlines to assure meeting the SAFE Act’s licensing requirements is Iowa:

Loan originators in Iowa need to complete 20 hours of education and pass the state exam.

ProSchools has plans in the works to help loan originators in Iowa meet their licensing requirements. Based on information released by the Iowa Division of Banking Finance, we don’t believe there will be anything state-specific in the 20-hour course. Our 20-hour course will include eight required hours (topics), plus contain information to prepare loan originators to pass the national portion of the exam. We hope we can submit the course for approval within a couple of weeks.

Next, we will develop state-specific questions to help loan originators in Iowa prepare for the state portion of the exam. It looks like there are only five questions on the state portion of the test. It will be kind of a “mini exam prep” with questions coming from a wide range of subjects!

That’s the plan for now, unless we learn something different. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on the latest information as we discover it.

19 states will be in the first batch of states who are adopting the SAFE Act requirements which mandate a license exam and 20 hours of prelicense education for all mortgage loan originators nationwide. 

The big question for you is probably, how does this effect me?  What’s going on in my state now?  To answer these questions, I suggest you follow two links.

Link 1:  Go to http://www.stateregulatoryregistry.org/NMLS/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Participating_States1  Here you can look up your state and see what is the status of NMLS mortgage loan originator licensing for your state.  This will give you some ideas of your state’s timeline.  If your state is not on this list, you are likely going to get a bit longer to comply unless your state voluntarily complies sooner.

Link 2:  Next, go to: http://www.stateregulatoryregistry.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Contact_Us1&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=17604  Here you can find the web site link for your state to the agency that is responsible for NMLS compliance in your state.  Look for “new information” or updates at this site.  I’ve noticed that new rules are being created quickly and seemingly on the fly by states. 

Hopefully, if you put these two pieces of information together (national and state) — you can get a pretty good idea of how the new laws will effect you as a loan originator.  If you are still stuck, shoot me an email at jeffw@proschools.com and I’ll see if I can’t help.