Monthly Summary of Mortgage Activities Georgia Department of Banking and Finance 2990 Brandywine Road, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30341-5565 SEPTEMBER 2000 Please review the enclosed list for details on licensee additions and deletions which occurred during September. The Mortgage Division received 24 applications for a new license or registration and 4 applications for reinstatement of previously revoked or withdrawn licenses. Twenty-four licenses were either revoked or withdrawn during September. One of those withdrawn licenses converted to notification status. There were 2,970 current licensees/registrants as of September 30, 2000. NOTE: 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/ The Department has established a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on its web site (see above). You should check this page periodically for changes. In September, no regular mortgage broker/lender examinations were performed by the Mortgage Division examination team. Our examination teams continued to concentrate on reviews to assess the prevalence of predatory lending practices within the state. Also, the Mortgage Division received 2,534 mortgage-related telephone calls. Of these calls, 526 were verbal consumer inquiries; and 71 were verbal consumer complaints. The Division of Legal and Consumer Affairs, (770) 986-1633, 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 first half of 2000 were due by September 1, 2000. A copy of the "per loan" fee reporting form can be found in Rule 80-5-1-.04(2) issued by this Department or on the Department's web site. 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 or extended until these fees and, if applicable, fines are reported and paid. PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THE FOLLOWING: - The ANNUAL LICENSE RENEWAL process which normally begins in August has been moved until 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 Department 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 will 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. Any Lender whose license expires will have to divest of Georgia residential loan portfolios and servicing rights. NOTIFICATION OF FRAUD Section 7-1-1007(d) O.C.G.A. requires a licensee or registrant to notify the Department of the discovery or knowledge of fraud, prohibited acts or the discharge of any employee for dishonest or fraudulent acts within ten days after knowledge of the event. Any person reporting such an event shall be protected from civil liability as provided in Code Section 7-1-1009. Notification should contain sufficient information to identify the parties to the fraud or prohibited act and copies of any documentation which is available. The notification should be mailed to the Mortgage Division. The Department has received numerous reports of fraud since this law became effective on July 1, 1999. Most of the reports received concern counterfeit W-2 or income or employment verification. It is very difficult to prove the broker or lender participated in the production of these counterfeit documents. For that reason the Department does not investigate every report of a single fraud. The Department does attempt to investigate brokers or lenders who have been reported numerous times or for whom there is evidence of a "pattern or practice" of fraud activity. The Department asks for your help in eliminating brokers or lenders who engage in fraudulent activities or who abet others in the commission of a fraud. You can best do this by adopting the following procedure. Lenders who receive a loan package which contains fraud or suspected fraud should notify in writing the person submitting the loan package that the package is being returned to them because the loan package contains fraudulent or counterfeit information. A copy of this letter and supporting documentation should be forwarded to the Department with the notification required by Code Section 7-1- 1007(d). MORTGAGE FORMS AVAILABLE VIA FAX-BACK: When the Department adopted its new telephone answering system earlier this year, many new services were made available to the industry. In addition to being able to automatically determine the active status of a license, many forms were made available via fax-back to the caller. You may access the forms by calling 770- 986-1269 and selecting the "4" option, then selecting the "2" option and then select the form that you need from the following list: 1. Application for a Mortgage Broker or Lender License (this includes reinstatement of licenses which have expired, been withdrawn or been revoked). 2. $6.50 per loan fees statement. 3. Forms for application for approval of a Change-in-Control of a Mortgage License. 4. Application for approval of a new branch office for a Mortgage Licensee. 5. Application to renew an annual license (available only when applicable). 6. Annual Written Report forms (available only when applicable). 7. Surety bond form along with a list of companies which offer the bond. OTHER MATTERS: Empire Funding Corp. ("Empire"), a mortgage lender, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, 2000, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, Case Number 00-11478-FM. Empire ceased lending in early April 2000. First Alliance Mortgage Company ("First Alliance"), a mortgage lender, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 23, 2000, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Case Number SA0012370LR. First Alliance ceased originations nationwide as of the filing date noted above. A Cease and Desist Order dated January 21, 2000, was issued to Ronald Gilford for a violation of O.C.G.A. Section 7-1-1013 . Mr. Gilford requested a hearing to appeal the Order. An Initial Decision affirming the Order was issued by the Office of State Administrative Hearings on July 20, 2000. The Department issued a Final Order, and the Cease and Desist Order is final as of August 28, 2000. NOTES TO THE SEPTEMBER 2000 SUMMARY: CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS ISSUED Smith, Rodney, Lawrenceville, GA - Cease and Desist Order issued 8-24-00, and became final 9-24- 00. LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS APPROVED OR REINSTATED IN SEPTEMBER 2000 ID# COMPANY NAME CITY ST CODE ORIGINAL APPROVAL RENEW'D REINSTAT'D 15999 Michele Francine Peoples-Wisneski DULUTH GA B 09/01/2000 09/01/2000 16008 Victor Group, Inc, (The) ALPHARETTA GA B 09/01/2000 09/01/2000 16058 Principal Residential Mortgage Funding, LLC 16070 Hartland Mortgage Centers, Inc. 15375 Mortgage Group, Inc. (The) DES MOINES WOODRIDGE COLUMBIA IA L IL L SC L 09/01/2000 09/01/2000 09/01/2000 09/01/2000 09/08/2000 09/08/2000 15939 Catherine Nesbitt STONE MOUNTAIN GA B 09/08/2000 09/08/2000 16049 L & S Mortgage Corporation JACKSONVILLE FL B 09/08/2000 09/08/2000 16069 Skye Mortgage Group, LLC FRANKLIN TN L 09/08/2000 09/08/2000 16072 Dream House Funding, Inc. COLLEGE PARK GA B 09/08/2000 09/08/2000 16054 ComUnity Lending, Incorporated 16057 Intermax Mortgage, LLC SAN JOSE NORCROSS CA L GA B 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 16060 Rebecca Solomon CHATTANOOGA TN B 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 16064 B.E.M.C. Mortgage Corp. VILLA PARK IL L 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 16068 Mohansingh Gurmukhsingh Udhwani 16082 Optimal, Inc. AUGUSTA COLUMBUS GA B GA B 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 6913 Century Funding, Ltd.+ ATLANTA GA B 05/27/1994 09/22/2000 11486 Home America Mortgage, Inc.* 16036 Altima Mortgage, LLC OCALA CHARLES CITY FL L IA L 16080 Kenneth Louis Wilson MILLEDGEVILLE GA B 16083 FirstCo Inc GREENVILLE NC L 16087 Litton Loan Servicing LP HOUSTON TX L 16091 Streamline Mortgage, Inc BUFORD GA B 16093 Cavalier Acceptance Corporation HAMILTON 16095 Available Mortgage Funding, DALLAS LLC 5655 HomeSide Lending, Inc.# JACKSONVILLE AL L TX L FL R 15940 Martha Randall MACON GA B 16041 CitiMortgage Services, Inc. ATLANTA GA B 16053 C.T.M.G. of GA, Inc. COLUMBIA SC B 16078 Chestaee Mortgage Associates, LLC 16092 Premier Mortgage Funding, Inc. 13020 Custom Mortgage, Inc. 11733 Par Two Investors, Inc. 13439 Dwayne L. Hart 13624 Jin Hong Park 15036 Specialized Financial Services, Inc. 13929 Simplifi Mortgage, Inc. DAWSONVILLE GA B KENNESAW GA B INDIANAPOLIS LEESBURG VALDOSTA ATLANTA BEDFORD IN L GA B GA B GA B TX L STONE MOUNTAIN GA B 03/15/1996 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 06/11/1993 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 09/29/2000 11/21/1997 07/19/1996 05/01/1998 06/05/1998 11/12/1999 09/01/2000 09/01/2000 09/08/2000 09/08/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 09/15/2000 10/02/1998 09/22/2000 09/22/2000 TOTAL: 36 B = BROKER L = LENDER R = REGISTRANT * Upgrade Broker to Lender + Downgrade Lender to Broker = Downgrade Registrant to Broker LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS REVOKED, EXPIRED, SUSPENDED, WITHDRAWN OR DENIED IN SEPTEMBER 2000 ID# NAME CODE REVOKED EXPIRED SUSPENDED WITHDRAWN DENIED 5726 Preferred Mtg Svcs BD 09/27/2000 5774 Vanguard B&T Co RD 09/26/2000 6458 Knutson Mtg Corp LD 09/18/2000 6487 Dependable Mtg Corp BD 09/19/2000 6570 Marine Midland Mtg Corp LD 09/27/2000 6764 Corinthian Mtg Corp LD 09/27/2000 7471 1st Central Financing Inc BD 09/06/2000 11806 FEW Mtg Group BD 09/28/2000 12852 LowCostLoan.com LD 09/29/2000 12907 1st Natl Acceptance Co GA LD 09/21/2000 13508 Ventura Mtg BD 09/07/2000 13632 Bower Mtg Grp Inc BD 09/07/2000 13806 TLC Mtg BD 09/27/2000 13896 Evergreen Finl Inc BD 09/26/2000 13979 Mtg Plus LLC BD 09/25/2000 14384 Oak Leaf Mtg, Inc. BD 09/25/2000 14610 Creative 1st Svcs, Inc. BD 09/21/2000 14742 SouthSide Mtg, Inc BD 09/07/2000 14930 Kelley, II, Ozell S BD 09/22/2000 14964 American Coastal Mtg BD 09/21/2000 15024 Delta Funding Grp Inc BD 09/08/2000 15060 Prime Mtg Solutions, Inc. BD 09/27/2000 15439 OnLoan.com, Inc. LD 09/21/2000 15559 Universal Mtg Source BD 09/07/2000 15646 NIPCO Mtg Inv Co BD 09/15/2000 15721 Move.com Mtg Inc BD 09/22/2000 15746 Fortson, Quincy BD 09/15/2000 15865 Alegis Grp LP LD 09/15/2000 15925 Baker, Howard G BD 09/22/2000 15947 Demmons, Debra L BD 09/22/2000 15949 Gary, Tammie R BD 09/22/2000 15954 Selleck, Kathleen S BD 09/22/2000 15973 Maner, Paul D BD 09/22/2000 16005 Horton, Barbara A BD 09/22/2000 TOTAL: 34 FINES ASSESSED IN SEPTEMBER 2000 ID# ISSUE DATE *FINE REASON FINE PAID DATE COMPANY NAME 15226 09/20/2000 BR $250. 09/28/2000 American Mortgage Loan Corporation CITY ST Ft. Lauderdale FL 1099 B&R BR CD CIC EMP FEE *FINE REASON 1099 employees Books & records FILE Unapproved branch LAR Violation of Cease & Desist Order NSF Acq. of 25% ownership without REL approval REN Employer under C&D or UL revocation OTH $6.50 fees not paid Loan files not properly maintained Late filing Written Annual Report Check returned for insufficient funds Relocation of office without notice Renewal filed late Doing business with unlicensed entity Miscellaneous other Return to Bulletins/Summaries Page Return to DBF Home Page