35 percent of Oklahoma's mortgage brokers at risk for fines, loss of

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Dec 23, 2005 by Brandice J. O'Brien

Thirty-five percent of Oklahoma mortgage brokers are delinquent in the license renewal process and face a $25-per-day fine beginning Jan. 1 and loss of their licenses Feb. 1.

Mortgage brokers need 16 credit hours of continuing education in order to renew their licenses, according to a law passed in April.

The Department of Consumer Credit sent renewal notices in mid- October noting that all renewal documents were due by Dec. 1. Brokers who did not respond by Dec. 15 were considered delinquent and if the paperwork isn't received by New Year's Eve, the broker is fined $25 per day. If the situation isn't corrected by Feb. 1, the broker's license becomes invalid.

It's really bad for them if they miss all those deadlines, said Jean Settle, administrative assistant at the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit. Quite a few tend to wait 'til the last minute.

Prior to April 11, mortgage broker licenses were valid for three years and did not require an education element for renewal. Now, they must be renewed yearly. By 2007, three-year licenses will cease to exist.

There are about 475 active licenses in Oklahoma, Settle said.

The new continuing education requirement has given rise to 15 organizations that now offer the required course. Three of them are based in Oklahoma.

One of those, Training Excellence in Mustang, is run by Pam Dickerson, who has been teaching mortgage lending classes for seven years.

Since July, Dickerson has trained about 300 mortgage brokers and loan officers, a majority of whom attended in the last quarter of this year. She offers about 15 classes ranging in price from $75 to $300.

One of her classes is a two-day program that encompasses everything needed for license renewal.

You go for two days, and you'll be finished, Dickerson said.

Another training program, based in Colorado, offers live classes via the Internet.

We've created a 16-hour class specifically to meet Oklahoma's requirements and help mortgage brokers and loan officers that do business in this state, said Jon Exley, Mortgage Training Institute's vice president of operations.

Mortgage Training Institute has 41 students in Oklahoma and approximately 150 who have shown interest in taking a class, said Don Exley, president of the institute.

The institute offers several types of classes to Oklahomans, such as online self-study courses, virtual courses and an extended classroom which allows students to be a part of the classroom in real time.

Students in the extended classroom can watch the class through their computer and submit questions in a chat room. A moderator eyeing the chat room will directly ask the professor the student's question and the professor will answer via the computer.

This is a way to be a part of a live teaching environment, as long as (the student) has high-speed Internet, Don Exley said.

The extended classroom launched in October.

The institute's menu ranges from $59 for an individual module to $395 for a two-day live course. The extended classroom option costs $345.

The institute, which was founded in 1993, trains brokers in 12 states including Texas, Louisiana, Illinois and California.

Classes needed for renewal include the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Truth in Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and ethics.