Licensing for Mortgage Originators?

As a mortgage professional for the last 14 years, I have been against licensing for originators. My logic was purely self serving. If I was doing business in a professional and ethical manner, I didn’t want to invest the time and or money into getting licensed. I was licensed in Illinois and when the time came to renew the license, I was too busy to do the little things that were required for me to keep my license. So now that you know why I WAS against it, let’s try to find out why I have changed my mind?

In a nutshell, there are still too many individuals and companies that are taking advantage of the consumer! The “Dark Side” has been reigned in by the changes in the sub-prime mortgage market, but like any bad fungus, they are regrouping and reforming to begin their next assault on the homeowners and would be home owners in our marketplace. If I, a busy professional am too busy to renew my license, how much effort do you think the minions of the “Dark Side” will put forth the get licensed or maintain their licenses? This move alone will chase many of the financial rapists out of business.

Now I recognize that a thief will always look for the easiest access. See the article by Michelle Singletary in the Washington Post; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/08/AR2007090800159.html. However, slowing them down is the key. It is in the time that they have to look for easier avenues to get into the consumers’ houses that we have more opportunity to educate the borrower and attempt to protect them. I also think that the investors who are purchasing these loans should be held accountable. Here is the Federal Reserves report on how well the Fed has done at monitoring companies who are purchasing mortgages; http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA270233 .

How do you feel about Mortgage Originators needing to be licensed? Contact Chris Scheer at cscheer@cornerstonestl.com with your comments.