How to Become a National Mortgage Broker

Close Mortgages Throughout the U.S.

Expanding to national licensing from a local, statewide or regional mortgage broker company may appear a bit daunting at first. The "rules" change and become more complex, requiring excellent management skills and state-of-the-art technology. However, the cost should be manageable and, with patience, your goal can be achieved -- in time. Here is how to do it.

Instructions

Become a National Mortgage Broker

1. Get or be licensed in at least one state. Be diligent and follow all licensing and practice requirements to the letter of the law. Your desire to expand to national status will primarily depend on your clean operations record with your first state license.

2. Become familiar with the licensing requirements -- and time frames for approval -- of neighboring states. States sometimes have widely differing licensing requirements, particularly in the areas of available cash, insurance, bonding and the required experience of the principals of the company.

3. Analyze the mortgage lenders with whom you are now associated. Learn where they are licensed to make loans. It is too time-consuming and expensive to be licensed as a mortgage broker in states for which you do not have licensed lenders. Make new associations with national mortgage lenders who can make loans everywhere while you proceed with your own licensing efforts.

4. Make every attempt to submit your license application completely and as requested by different states' governing bodies. The unfortunate reality with mortgage broker license applications -- or rather, the government agencies that give or withhold them -- is that an application judged to be "incomplete" is typically removed from the active pile and put into a "suspended" status. From a time perspective, this is a potential disaster. Applications deemed complete are acted upon in reasonable time periods. Those "incomplete" applications often are just put aside to collect dust for months.

5. Ensure you have the technology -- or install it -- to process applications from many states. Much like federal bankruptcy laws, there are often state requirements and disclosures that are unique to the state in which the real estate is located, regardless of where the borrower/owner lives.

6. After you have working agreements with national lenders, become licensed in all states, and have the technology to produce the correct documents and disclosures to borrowers, you have become a national mortgage broker.

Tips & Warnings

• • Target the most lucrative mortgage-producing states first. Unless you have other reasons superseding high volume, target the most populous states first. • Be patient. Mortgage broker licenses can take from two to six months to be approved and issued.

• • Don't neglect your attorney. You don't need one in every state, but keep your lawyer involved in your licensing process. Whatever the cost, being licensed in many states is the goal. • Don't assume that one successful license request means you'll be quickly approved throughout the U.S. Do research to understand how other states' licensing agencies operate and learn any shortcuts or shortcomings they have.

Resources

• More Information About Mortgage Broker Licensing