Imagine a career helping people obtain the necessary financing they need to purchase a home. Buying a home can be one of the most exciting and overwhelming times in a person’s life. By gathering and evaluating information on your client’s current financial status and explaining the features and benefits of the different mortgage loan programs available, you will ensure he or she selects the programs that are best for his or her specific situation. As a mortgage loan originator, you will work for a primary lender and you will make or initiate new loans. Your main tasks will include taking mortgage loan applications, pulling credit reports, ordering appraisals, and assembling all of the other forms and documents required by the person or company who is underwriting the loan. Mortgage lending is a profession that requires you to know many disciplines, including real estate, finance, appraisal, and others in order to be effective. If you are interested in becoming a mortgage loan originator and helping others with the one of the most crucial financial decisions of their lives, you must successfully complete the following steps.

The first step in earning your mortgage loan originator license is to make sure that you meet the general licensing standards outlined by the new SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008. These licensing standards include requirements such as you never had your mortgage loan originator license rescinded and you do not have any recorded felonies in the last seven years. Also, you should never have had a felony concerning fraud, untruthfulness, violation of trust, or money laundering. It is also very important that you illustrate personal financial accountability and complete the necessary pre-licensing mortgage education and testing requirements. Once you have earned your mortgage loan originator license, you must continue to meet the licensing standards by maintaining your license and your individual record through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLSR) and by completing at least eight hours of continuing education each year.

Another important licensing requirement is your participation in criminal background checks through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). You must allow the FBI to acquire your fingerprints and check your criminal history. This background check is a crucial part of your licensing application and it will be attached to your individual NMLSR record. Only you and the appropriate state regulators will be able to view your NMLSR record and your criminal background check. In addition, you must also allow the NMLSR to check your credit report in order for you to earn your mortgage loan originator license. This credit report will prove whether you are financially accountable.

Once you have made sure you meet all of the specifications of the general pre-licensing standards, you can begin on your path to earning your mortgage loan originator license! This journey begins with your successful completion of 20 hours of pre-licensing mortgage loan origination education. These 20 hours must include 3 hours of federal law and regulations, 3 hours of ethics (fraud, consumer safeguards, and fair lending questions), 2 hours of nontraditional mortgage lending, and 12 hours of undefined mortgage origination courses. If you are an unlicensed mortgage loan originator, you must complete this education before July 31, 2010. If you were an already licensed mortgage loan originator before the passing of the SAFE Act, you must complete this education requirement before January 1, 2011. Although pre-licensing mortgage education cannot be created by the NMLSR, it still must be approved by the NMLSR.

Once you have met the pre-licensing standards of the SAFE act and you have completed your pre-licensing mortgage loan originator education, you must then effectively pass the SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test. The SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test has two components: a national section, and a state section. The national section of the test is created by the NMLSR, and the state section is created by the state in which you want to earn your mortgage loan originator license. Students will be tested on a variety of mortgage loan origination topics, including ethics, federal law and regulations covering mortgage origination, state law and regulations covering mortgage origination, and federal and state law and regulation covering fraud, consumer safeguards, nontraditional mortgage lending, and fair lending questions. In order to pass the SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test, you must score at least a 75%. If you wish to earn a mortgage loan originator license in more than one state, you must pass each state’s state component of the national mortgage test. Additionally, your state decides when you must complete the national SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Test.

Follow these steps and you will be well on your way to earning your mortgage loan originator license! It is important that you follow these guidelines in order to make sure that you meet all of the SAFE Act requirements. Additionally, it is also crucial for you to double check that you also meet your own state’s specific standards.