Blog

Before I begin, I’d like to make something perfectly clear.  Approaching the NMLS National Mortgage Loan Originator Licensing Exam from the perspective of, “What is the bare minimum that I can do and still pass?” is a strikingly slippery slope down which to travel.  Approaching your upcoming test this way can easily cause you to shoot yourself in the foot.  After all, a weightlifter who trains for her absolute baseline lifting threshold will struggle more profusely than one who trains for loftier goals.  By training above and beyond, she accomplishes her actual goal far easier than if she was struggling [...]

Congratulations!  You’ve completed all required pre-licensing education, you’ve passed the NMLS exam, you’ve applied for your license, and you’ve received it.  You’re now a licensed mortgage loan originator (MLO).  But is that it?  Nope!  Not quite! All MLO licenses are issued for an annual term and expire at midnight every December 31st.  In order for the MLO to continue servicing his or her mortgage pipeline and originate new mortgage loans, he or she must have submitted a renewal application on or by the last day of each year.  If, when everybody starts cheering, “Happy New Year!” the MLO has not [...]

As you’re most likely aware, two of the most important prerequisites that must be completed prior to applying for and being issued a state mortgage loan originator (MLO) license are completing an NMLS-approved, 20-hour pre-licensing course conducted by an NMLS-approved education provider and successfully passing the NMLS national MLO licensing exam.  State-specific pre-licensing education may also be required depending on the state(s) in which the licensing candidate ultimately desires licensure, but state-specific pre-licensing education requirements will not be a focus of this article. The 20-hour pre-licensing course may be completed through a live classroom, online instructor led (webinar), or online [...]

Mortgage protégés are frequently confused between Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) and I’m regularly asked to differentiate between the two of them.  What I explain to them is that, although they’re both forms of mortgage insurance to protect against the borrower defaulting on their mortgage loan, they’re quite different from and should not be confused with each other. Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Several decades ago, mortgage industry research was conducted that conclusively determined that people who have 20% or more equity in their properties are statistically less likely to default on their mortgage loans when [...]

Admit it!  After reading this article’s title you either thought, “This Leffler guy’s delusional” or, “Now I’ve GOT to read this!”  I’m betting that it was the former.  Well, I assure you that I am far from delusional!  In fact, I stand by what I profess and will go so far as to assure you that what I’m about to discuss will set your career on fire and you apart from much of your competition. Ok, so now you’re thinking, “Oh yeah?  Well what about that 19 year-old first-time homebuyer wannabe with the 462 credit score, a half dozen [...]

I cannot tell you how many times, in the beginning of my mortgage originations career, I had to field an angry call from an applicant accusing me of bait and switch.  After agreeing to lock in the applicant’s interest rate at a specific rate, their fury spewed upon reviewing the corresponding disclosures when they observed a rate that was higher than the rate which I agreed to lock.  What the applicant didn’t realize, however, was that this higher rate was not the note rate to which we agreed and that I did lock in on his behalf.  It was [...]