G;fl 3, 00 , pi /'1b 2000/ Monthly Summary of M~rtgage_Activities Georgia Department of Banking and Finance 2990 Brandywine Road, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30341-5565 JUNE 2000 SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES - MORTGAGE DIVISION Please review the enclosed list for details on licensee additions and deletions which occurred during June. The Mortgage Division received 212 applications for a new license or registration and 7 applications for reinstatement of previously revoked licenses. Eighty-nine licenses were either revoked or withdrawn during June. There were 2,771 current licensees/registrants as of June 30, 2000. LICENSES ISSUED IN GEORGIA ARE SUBJECT TO REVOCATION, WITHDRAWAL OR SUSPENSION. TO VERIFY THE CURRENT STATUS OF A LICENSE CALL 770-986-1633 OR CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT http://www.state.ga.us/dbf/ ECEIVED Documents J If"" ' - - - . _,... The Department has established the initial version of its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on its website (see above). You should check this page periodically for changes. The next update should occur in August to fleet this year's legislative changes and the new regulations. In June, 5 mortgage broker/lender examinations were performed by the Mortgage Division examination team. Also, the Mortgage Division received 2,722 mortgage-related telephone calls. Of these calls, 454 were verbal consumer inquiries; and 165 were verbal consumer complaints. The Division of Legal and Consumer Affairs, (770) 9861633, is charged with the responsibility of handling legal inquiries and consumer complaints. If you are a current licensee and would like to be notified when the Monthly Mortgage Summary is available on the Internet, please E-mail a message to dbfmort@dbf.state.ga.us. Be sure to include your license number and the name of your company in your message. If you do not have E-mail but do have a local Atlanta FAX number (area codes 770, 404, 678, or 800, or 888), have a 9600 or 14400 baud modem, are not currently receiving the Monthly Mortgage Summary by fax, and would like to have the Summary faxed to you, please send a fax to DBFMORT at the Department's Mortgage Division at 770-986-1029. PER LOAN FEES - "Per loan" fees for the second half of 1999 were due by March 1, 2000. "Per loan" fees for the first half of 2000 are due by September 1, 2000. A copy of the "per loan" fee reporting form can be found on the Department's website or in Rule 80-5-1-.04(2) issued by this Department. The fine for late filing of your $6.50 fees more than 60 calendar days late is $1,000. Please remember that your license will not be renewed until these fees and, if applicable, fines are reported and paid. PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THE FOLLOWING: Ie ANNUAL LICENSE RENEWAL process which normally begins in August has been moved to early 2001. Those licensees who have no outstanding issues with this Department will be granted a 6-month extension on their license until June 30, 2001. You will receive an extension certificate in the mail. Those licensees who have outstanding issues pending before this Department (such as fines, $6.50 fee payments and reports, administrative issues, etc.) will need to resolve these issues prior to the extension being granted. Those licensees who do not resolve these issues will have their licenses expire at the end of this calendar year. To summarize the changes in the renewal process scheduled for your FY 2002 license, renewal application forms will be distributed on or about February 1, 2001. Renewal Applications Forms must be returned to the apartment prior to April 1, 2001. Failure to return your renewal application form prior to the due date may delay the processing of your renewal application until after the expiration date. A $300 late fine will be assessed against your license for failure to return the renewal application form prior to April 1, 2001. As mentioned above, all outstanding issues such as fines, fees, complaint settlements, stale audits, inadequate tangible net worth, etc., must be resolved before your renewal license witf be granted. Licensees who do not complete the renewal process by June 30, 2001, will have their licenses expire, and will have to cease operations. Lenders whose licenses expire will have to divest of Georgia residential loan portfolios and servicing rights. NOTES TO THE JUNE 2000 SUMMARY: ERROR IN MAY SUMMARY In May, the license of M & M Mortgage Co., lnc., Stone Mountain, G~ was revoked in error. This license (#11509) has been reinstated. CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS ISSUED - JUNE Jon Browne & Associates Financial Group, Inc., Stone Mountain, GA - Cease and Desist Order issued 6-7-00, and became final 6-27-00. ~hapin & Associates (Terry M. Haimes), Atlanta, GA - Cease and Desist Order issued 5-15-00, and became final 6-4-00. Haimes, Terry M., Atlanta, GA - Cease and Desist Order issued 5-15-00, and became final 6-4-00. Hall, Horace, Jr., Stone Mountain, GA - Cease and Desist Order issued 5-15-00, and became final 6-4-00. Kurtz, Louise Angelyn, Atlanta, GA- Cease and Desist Order issued 5-15-00, and became final 6-4-00. Titan Mortgage Lending, Inc., Savannah, GA - Cease and Desist Order issued 5-15-00, and became final 6-4-00. CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS LIFTED Howard, Brigitte J., Atlanta, GA - Cease and Desist Order issued 8-27-97, lifted 6-5-00. Important Notice: Withdrawal of Proposed Rule nn June 8, 2000, the Department circulated to its mortgage licensees and registrants a revised proposed new rule, Jmber 80-11-4-.04, reflecting the concept of a Limited Mortgage Broker License. Comment to the first version of the rule was substantial, and with the second revised rule the Department attempted to eliminate some of the objections. Three comment letters to the revised version were received; two were vehemently negative, one requested further significant changes. As indicated by the comments received in connection with this proposal as well as the original proposal , the limited license concept is problematic. Further, the industry is obviously not in support of the concept. Therefore, the Department has determined not to adopt the proposed rule. EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION (Modified Repeat comment} Recent amendments to O.C.G.A. Section 7-1-1004 enable the Department to establish experience and education requirements as a prerequi.siite for the tssuance of a Georgia residential mortgage broker license. Numerous requests from individuals in the mortgage industry generated this law. The Department issued rules for comment on April 17, 2000, such rules set out the requirements. Generally, applicants for a broker license will be required to have two years experience soliciting, processing, placing and negotiating mortgage loans, or in the alternative, may complete 40 credit hours of training in courses required and approved by the Department. This requirement only needs to be met once, but in order to use education or experience, such education must have been completed within one year prior to the date of approval of the license, and the experience must have been completed within the three years prior to the date of approval of the license. Four of the education hours must be on Georgia laws and rules. Current licensees under certain conditions will not be required to satisfy these requirements. Licensees and Registrants wiU receive a copy of the proposed rules at a later date. NOTIFICATION (Repeat Comment) During the 2000 legislative