Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals

Legislative Affairs Update from AAMB's Jody Davis

ARIZONA ASSOCIATION OF MORTGAGE BROKERS 

 

Federal Update

NAMB has sent out legislative alerts over the past couple of weeks with regards to H.R. 3126 (Consumer  Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009).  Since Arizona does not have a member on the House Financial Services Committee we really could not participate in the call to action like other states.  We have been monitoring the items and I wanted to give everyone an update and clarification to what is occurring.

H.R. 3126 is basically a bill that is attempting to merge several government agencies into on one huge bureaucratic department.  Through this, they have been jockeying for power with regards to financial reform.  So this bill encompasses numerous topics that are not all related to mortgages.  When the committee agreed to hear the bill, there was a push by NAMB to draft amendments that would address other pending items while trying to remain as innocuous as possible.  The effort produced 3 amendments that addressed the following;

Amendment 1 - nullifying the HVCC, not just an 18 month moratorium but killing it altogether.  This was sponsored by Miller and Childers who have been a huge help to small business and the mortgage community.

Amendment 2 – delay the HUD rule until the FED, HUD and industry could work out the conflicts between the two rules.  This was sponsored by Biggert.

Amendment 3 - prevent CFPA from capping compensation to any person, ensure fair dealings with consumers and ensures no disparate treatment among industry participants whether they are federally chartered, big or small.  This was also a Miller sponsored amendment.  

The results of NAMB’s efforts were victorious on two fronts.  The first amendment nullifying HVCC was approved by the committee.  This will work on the premise that loan officers licensed under the SAFE Act would be able to order the appraisals directly and there is a large push to have the appraisers registered on the NLMS system too.  This will ensure tracking and regulation of the intended rule.

The second amendment mentioned above was not allowed in its entirety.  There was much deliberation on the exact dates of postponement and this overshadowed the real intent of the amendment.  It did however result in the allowance of lenders/brokers using either GFE until July 1, 2010.  This solves a more critical issue that was more of an underlying factor than the FED and HUD rules conflicting.  The unspoken possibility was the large lenders would stop lending until they could finish their beta testing on the new forms.  This could have shut down the industry in January until a compromise could have been achieved.

The third amendment is still a possibility but will have to come from changes made along the way.

Finally H.R. 3126 will ultimately merge with several other regulatory reform bills such as H.R. 1728 (Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009).  The companion legislation has not been introduced into the Senate although it is expected in the coming weeks.    There will be several state of the industry announcements and forums in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned to those as the situation is extremely fluid and can change in the blink of an eye.                           

Arizona Update

The legislature will be called into special session later this month or sometime in November.  The budget must be dealt with and DFI still has no money to implement the SAFE Act registration process.  For those of you who attended AAMB’s Mortgage Marketplace Conference, you heard that DFI has five people to process the anticipated 5,000 applications for SAFE.  The budget passage would potentially add another 5-7 people to process the applications.  Since this is still a huge unknown, AAMB encourages everyone to take their classes and take the test as soon as possible.  DFI has 120 days to process the paperwork and they will probable use every part of it.  

I realize this is a long update but I thought everyone needed to know what the results of the amendments mean to us and what the association has done to insure the longevity of our industry. 

Respectfully,

Jody Davis

Government Affairs

Arizona Association of Mortgage Brokers

   

  

Get answers directly from NMLS executive Bill Matthews at the AAMB Conference

ARIZONA ASSOCIATION OF MORTGAGE BROKERS

Here's your chance to get answers about NMLS and how it relates to mandatory licensing under the SAFE Act!

Bill Matthews, Senior Vice President of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), and the lead manager over the Nationwide Mortgage Lending System (NMLS), will be joining us from Washington D.C. to provide remarks and answers to your questions on Tuesday morning, October 20 at the AAMB Conference.

To see Bill, sign-up HERE for a full-day registration to attend the AAMB Mortgage MarketPlace 2010 Housing Outlook & Expo, next Tuesday, October 20.

The deadline to sign-up for a full-day registration is tomorrow, Friday, Oct 16 at 7:00 p.m.

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Under the S.A.F.E. Act, all states must implement a mortgage loan originator licensing process that meets certain minimum standards and must license loan originators through NMLS.  NMLS is the web-based system that will allow licensed mortgage originators to complete a single uniform form electronically, regardless of the number of states in which they are licensed. 

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Wayne Stutzer confirmed to speak at AAMB Conference - Gain valuable insights on your business

Arizona Association of Mortgage Brokers

Wayne Stutzer, wealth management speaker and favorite among mortgage professionals, returns by popular demand to next week's AAMB Mortgage MarketPlace Conference on Tuesday, October 20 at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Wayne is the Senior Vice President of RBC Dain Rauscher and host of KTAR's The Smart Investor.  Unlike some in his field, Wayne possesses the knack to create a clear understanding of what's happening in the economy, housing and financial markets. 

Using lots of wit, humor and common sense, Wayne provides a big-picture overview of what mortgage professionals might expect in upcoming months.

For more information about the AAMB Conference, click here.   To register, click here.

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Arizona Legislative Update

Arizona Association of Mortgage Brokers

Here's an update from AAMB Legislative Affairs Chair Jody Davis about the Arizona legislative landscape:

The atmosphere in the political arena has become increasingly unstable.  The Arizona legislature has yet to produce a working budget.  The stand off between the Governor and the Republican legislature has reached boiling point.  The Governor refuses to sign anything that does not include a sales tax hike.  Meanwhile the leaders of the legislature refuse to even discuss it.  The multi billion dollar deficit is not going away and will become even more problematic the further it lingers. 

The Governor will call a special session later this month or the beginning of November.  Not only are the budget items on the table, but several entities start to run out of money the end of this month and if not fixed, we could all go without services to some degree.  What does this mean to mortgage professionals?  Simply put, get your education and testing completed now to beat the rush.

You may ask, why is this so important, don't we have until June 30 of next year?  DFI has only a handful of people working in licensing.  The money has yet to be granted by the legislature to hire more staff.  The original budget called for 1.5 million, it is now down to a proposed 550k.  It might go down further if the House gets their way.  This means there might only be enough money to hire an additional 4-5 people.  They will have to do the work they have now plus process 5000 requests for loan officers.  This will take the processing time of a couple of weeks to several months.  Not to instill a panic, but applications received after March might not make the cut off of June 30.   

Get signed-up for your 20-hour mandatory education course...click here.

For more information about licensing, click here.

  

Are 30-somethings the sweet spot of the mortgage market?

Arizona Association of Mortgage Brokers - in today's on-line Arizona Republic, the most read article is "Recession offers deals of a lifetime". 

This from the article:

"Early this year, the 30-year-old salesman in Scottsdale shelved expensive meals and vacation plans and threw "every spare dollar" into the stock market. The value of his portfolio has more than tripled as the market has rallied since March." "This is like buying a swimsuit in the fall or a winter jacket in the spring," he said. "Get in while it's a good deal."

And this:

"Only 39 percent of adults younger than 35 are homeowners, compared with 80 percent of those older than 55, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. So the opportunity for those in their 20s and 30s to take advantage of the real-estate crash is greater than for any other age group."

Might this be the sweet spot of the mortgage market?  What are you finding? 

FTC Deadline NOVEMBER 1 - Is your ID Theft "Red Flags" Plan in Place?

 

Arizona Mortgage Brokers Association

On November 1, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Red Flag Rule goes into mandatory compliance for all Mortgage Brokers.

Do already have your written plan in place? 

It's important to understand that the Red Flag Rule is not a casual suggestion.  On November 1, 2009, it becomes law.  Here are some resources to help you get your program built, if you haven't already:

• Attend a free* 1-hour class at the OCTOBER 20 AAMB CONFERENCE
  
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Fighting Fraud with the Red Flag Rule - A How-To Guide for Business.

Here are the basic four provisions of the statute:

1. Identify Relevant Red Flags - identify the red flags of identity theft you're likely to come across in your business.
2. Detect Red Flags - Set up procedures to detect those red flags in your day-to-day operations.
3. Prevent and Mitigate Identity Theft - If you spot the red flags you've identified, respond appropriately to prevent and mitigate the harm done..
4. Update your Program - the risks of identity theft can change rapidly, so it's important to keep our program current and educate your staff.

Once you have your plan in place, be sure to tell your clients what you've done to help protect their identity from theft and fraud!

*With purchase of full-day conference registration