Does the state require a physical location within the state?
Georgia has reciprocity with regard to physical location for brokers. In other words an out of state mortgage broker is required to maintain an in state office in Georgia if the laws of the broker’s home state would require a Georgia broker to maintain an in state office there to obtain a license.

Is there individual loan officer licensing?
No, however a loan processor that processes loans for third parties or who acts as an independent processor of loan applications is considered a mortgage broker and is subject to licensing.

What are lenders, brokers and loan officers called?
Licensed entities are defined by statute as “mortgage lenders” and “mortgage brokers”. The loan officer employees are not individually licensed.

What is the cost of a license? Surety bond? Are there net worth requirements?
The annual license fee for a mortgage broker is $500, which covers the main office and one additional office. Additional offices listed in the license application are assessed a fee of $350 each. There is also a $250 investigation fee per application and a $30 processing for each set of fingerprint cards required to be submitted. A mortgage broker must provide a $50,000 surety bond.

The annual license fee for a mortgage lender is $1,000, which covers the main office and one additional office. Additional offices listed in the license application are assessed a fee of $350 each. There is also a $250 investigation fee per application and a $30 processing for each set of fingerprint cards required to be submitted. A mortgage broker must provide a $150,000 surety bond.

Is there a pre-licensing education requirement? Is there a test?
Mortgage broker applicants are subject to either experience or education requirements. The experience or education requirement applies to the operating manager who supervises Georgia operations if the broker is a company.

Education: The applicant must complete 40 course hours of education from an approved provider of mortgage education courses in specified areas. A minimum of 4 hours of this education must be in a course or courses covering the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act and Rules and Regulations of the Department. In addition, at least one of the remaining 36 hours shall be focused on fraud detection and prevention in the mortgage industry. Education requirements must have been completed within the one (1) calendar year period prior to the date of approval.

Experience: The applicants must demonstrate a minimum of 2 years, full-time, prior experience/employment in the mortgage industry directly originating mortgage loans. Compensation received during this 2 year period will be considered as an indicator of full-time employment status. Experience as a processor will not meet the experience requirements for a license. Experience must include all broker loan origination functions. Experience requirements must have been completed within the three (3) calendar year period immediately prior to the date of approval of the license.

Is there a CE requirement?
A licensee must complete at least 12 hours of continuing education annually. The continuing education provider must be approved by the Department of Banking. There is a $1,000 fine for failure to complete the annual continuing education.

Are there different requirements for mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders (i.e. can you broker under a lender license)?
Georgia issues both a lenders license and a brokers license. Brokers using warehouse lines are considered lenders and must meet the requirements for lender licensing.

Are there any state specific high cost loan provisions?
The Georgia Fair Lending Act imposes restrictions on what it defines as “home loans” and “high cost home loans”. A high-cost home loan is defined as a home loan in which the terms of the loan meet or exceed one or more of the following thresholds:

APR test - For first-lien loans, the APR is 8 percent above yield on Treasury securities with comparable periods to maturity. For junior-lien loans, the APR is 10 percent above the yield on Treasury securities with comparable periods to maturity.
Points and fees test - Points and fees exceed 5 percent of the total loan amount if the total loan amount is $20,000 or more, or the lesser of 8 percent of the total loan amount or $1,000 if the total loan amount is less than $20,000.

Points and fees as defined in Georgia law include:

All items included in the Regulation Z definition of finance charge found in Sections 226.4(a) and 226.4(b) except interest or the time-price differential. All items excluded under Regulation Z Section 226.4(c) are excluded from points and fees, provided that for items under Section 226.4(c)(7) the creditor does not receive direct or indirect compensation in connection with the charge and the charge is not paid to an affiliate of the creditor.

All compensation paid directly or indirectly to a mortgage broker from any source, including a broker that originates a loan in its own name in a table-funded transaction, including but not limited to yield spread premiums, yield differentials, and service release fees, provided that the portion of any yield spread premium that is both disclosed to the borrower in writing and used to pay bona fide and reasonable fees to a person other than the creditor or an affiliate of the creditor for the following purposes is exempt from inclusion in points and fees: fees for tax payment services; fees for flood certification; fees for pest infestation and flood determination; appraisal fees; fees for inspection performed prior to closing; credit reports; surveys; attorney fees, if the borrower has the right to select the attorney from an approved list or otherwise; notary fees; escrow charges, if outside the Regulation Z definition of finance charge; title insurance premiums; and fire and hazard insurance and flood insurance premiums, provided that the statutory conditions are met.

Premiums or other charges for credit life, credit accident, credit health, credit personal property, or credit loss-of-income insurance, debt suspension coverage, or debt cancellation coverage, whether or not such coverage is insurance under applicable law, that provides for cancellation of all or part of a borrower's liability in the event of loss of life, health, personal property, or income or in the case of accident written in connection with a home loan and premiums or other charges for life, accident, health, or loss-of-income insurance without regard to the identity of the ultimate beneficiary of such insurance. In determining points and fees for the purposes of this paragraph, premiums or other charges shall include only those payable at or before loan closing and are included whether they are paid in cash or financed and whether the amount represents the entire premium for the coverage or an initial payment.

The maximum prepayment fees and penalties that may be charged or collected under the terms of the loan documents. Mortgage interest that may accrue in advance of payment in full of a loan made under a local, state, or federal government-sponsored mortgage insurance or guaranty program, including a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) program, shall not be considered to be a prepayment fee or penalty. All prepayment fees or penalties that are charged to the borrower if the loan refinances a previous loan made or currently held by the same creditor or an affiliate of the creditor.