You may have noticed that the mortgage brokers you are  communicating with are all licensed.  Actually, in order to function as a broker, they have to be licensed, which is an important tidbit to know if you are talking to brokers about getting a home loan.

The licensing requirements are laid out by the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE stands for “secure and fair enforcement”).  This act was signed into law last year by President Bush,  and sets minimums for pre-licensing education and continuing education. 

The idea is that if mortgage brokers have sufficient mortgage training, borrowers ought to be much safer taking their advice.  Makes sense to me.  After all, why would I want someone advising me on my mortgage who doesn’t know any more about financial matters than I do?

The law took effect on July 30, 2008, but mortgage brokers have a year from that date to come into compliance with the requirements.  In other words, starting in just over a month here, all the mortgage brokers you talk to should be in compliance.  If you are seeking a home loan around that time, you might want to ask the brokers you talk to if they have met the requirements yet.  The law is there for your benefit, but it can’t help you if you don’t ensure that you only deal with brokers who are in compliance.

Technorati Tags: home loan, mortgage application, mortgage training, safe mortgage licensing