Federal Law

The mortgage industry is regulated by HUD (The Department of Housing & Urban Development). The main law which governs mortgages is Regulation X known as RESPA (Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act.)

An MPN Loan Officer must complete at least six of the items below in order to be compensated for a mortgage:

(a) Taking information from the borrower and filling out the application;

(b) Analyzing the prospective borrower's income and debt and pre-qualifying the prospective borrower to determine the maximum mortgage that the prospective borrower can afford;

(c) Educating the prospective borrower in the home buying and financing process, advising the borrower about the different types of loan products available, and demonstrating how closing costs and monthly payments could vary under each product;

(d) Collecting financial information (tax returns, bank statements) and other related documents that are part of the application process;

(e) Initiating/ordering VOEs (verifications of employment) and VODs (verifications of deposit);

(f) Initiating/ordering requests for mortgage and other loan verifications;

(g) Initiating/ordering appraisals;

(h) Initiating/ordering inspections or engineering reports;

(i) Providing disclosures (truth in lending, good faith estimate, others) to the borrower;

(j) Assisting the borrower in understanding and clearing credit problems;

(k) Maintaining regular contact with the borrower, realtors, and lender, between application and closing to appraise them of the status of the application and gather any additional information as needed;

(l) Ordering legal documents;

(m) Determining whether the property was located in a flood zone or ordering such service; and

(n) Participating in the loan closing.

All MPN Loan Officers are required to perform items a, b, c, d, i & k

MPN has developed a process which assures all loan officers complete these six tasks and that each task will be done properly and in a timely fashion.

There is NO federal license required to be a Loan Officer.

State Law

Certain states such as Florida may require mortgage consultants to have a license. However, there are some exemptions to this law:

494.006 Exemptions

None of the following persons are subject to the requirements of ss. 494.006-494.0077 in order to act as a mortgage lender or correspondent mortgage lender:

“A natural person employed by a mortgage lender licensed under ss. 494.001-494.0077 is exempt from the licensure requirements of ss. 494.001-494.0077 when acting within the scope of employment with the licensee.”

494.001 Definitions.--As used in ss. 494.001-494.0077, the term:

"Employed" means engaged in the service of another for salary or wages subject to withholding, FICA, or other lawful deductions by the employer as a condition of employment.

"Employee" means a natural person who is employed and who is subject to the right of the employer to direct and control the actions of the employee.

All MPN Loan Officers will be paid as a salaried employee and will be subject to FICA and federal withholding.

A Loan Officer cannot be employed by more than one Lender or Correspondent Lender at the same time.