Keeping you SAFE
Posted by: Greg Fischer Post date: September 17th, 2009Today, I’m completing my mandatory 20 hours of “pre-licensure” education in the mortgage industry, even though I’ve been a professional in the New Hampshire mortgage industry for 6 years and have earned several certifications.
But according to the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, (SAFE) ALL mortgage professionals who do not work for a depository bank, are required to take a 20 hour “core pre-licensure” course. That’s Mortgage Origination 101. It’s painiful.
When I started in this business, qualification and training consisted of “Congradulations! You’re a Loan Officer. There is your phone. Now get busy.”
As a professional in a complex field, I completely support licensing. I completely support required education to maintain that license. I question the efficiency of the current registry system (even the web site is a navigation disaster) but I applaud the intent. Realtors need a license. Financial advisors need a tough license. To think that people with no qualifications could become loan officers is sad, and I’m glad we’re looking to fix that.
Under today’s rules, I – and every mortgage professional – am required to take 20 hours of pre-license education, pass a national licensing test and then take a separate state test for EVERY state I plan to conduct business in. For me, that includes ME, NH and MA, a total of 4 exams just to continue to originate loans in those states.
And that’s because I do not work at a bank. So long as a bank holds deposits, offers checking and savings etc, a loan officer is required to register with the national system – and then stop. So the person staffing the “lending center” down at the corner Bank (large or small) is presumed safe and competent to lend in all 50 states, without a background check, or licensure, or required education, or any more expertise than was required to be hired for the job.
Before you pick up and call the 800 number on your bank statement looking for a new mortgage and speak with an operator who might not even be local about your new home in Concord, consider this: your local mortgage broker is better educated, more thoroughly screened, and has stricter professional requirements than your bank. If that’s important to you, you should feel very SAFE working with a specialized mortgage company.
