Blog

LOAN OFFICER LICENSING IN ARIZONA

By John R. Rapasky     For the first time ever, beginning July 1, 2010, loan originators must be licensed to originate residential mortgage loans in Arizona.  Each licensee will be required to have a license number, which will be registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System.  This number will follow the licensee no matter where they work, thus creating a record for each licensee and establishing a system of accountability.  This will prevent licensees from performing misconduct at one company, just to leave that company and perform misconduct at another company.  Individuals who perform loan modifications will also need...

COMPETENT LOAN OFFICERS

 By John Rapasky             There is an article in today’s Arizona Republic which validates the mission of the Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC.  The article is titled, “After crash, loan officers reined in.”  Read the article at: http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/09/20/20090920housing-loanofficer.html As the article states, “many loan officers pushed mortgages that weren’t safe or smart for borrowers and collected higher fees.”  The article also provides how loan officers are currently not licensed, and therefore there is no formal training required to be a loan officer. Counsel Mortgage was formed by an experienced Attorney and CPA who noticed there was a lack of competent advice...

LENDING ON DISTRESSED PROPERTIES IN ARIZONA, PART II

 By John R. Rapasky             You comment, we listen.  Since the last post, many of you commented that you wanted more information regarding this topic.  This post discusses 3 different loan programs for the purchase of distressed property.  We work with lenders who provide all 3 programs and would be happy to help you with your scenario. The first is the use of an escrow holdback.  An escrow holdback can be used on an investment property, primary residence, or second/vacation home. An escrow holdback is where the cost of the repairs are kept in an escrow account at the title company...