Monthly summary of mortgage activities, Dec. 2005

Inside this Issue

2

NEWS Commissioner's

Priority List

2

Department Reorganization

2

Outstanding Orders: How They Work

4

OTHER ITEMS FY 2007 ON-LINE

License Renewal

5

$6.50 "Per Loan" Fees Due

5

More on "Net" Branches

6

Administrative Actions & Issues

9

2006 State Holidays

Check for
Web Outstanding C&D and Consent Orders
2990 Brandywine Road Suite 200
Atlanta, GA 30341 Phone: (770) 986-1269
Fax: (770) 986-1029

Monthly Summary of Mortgage Activities
Georgia Department of Banking & Finance
FOR THE PERIOD ENDING
December 2005
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
MORTGAGE DIVISION
WEB SITE: www.state.ga.us/dbf STAFF: www.state.ga.us/dbf/staff.html

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News Items

COMMISSIONER BRASWELL'S THREE INITIAL PRIORITIES

Commissioner Braswell has indicated the following priorities for the Department:

The initial priority is addressing Department staffing issues caused by retirements, promotions, and reorganization.

As a second priority, the Commissioner will be getting acquainted or reacquainted with the leadership of the bank and credit union associations and their members.

The third initial, and

crucial priority will be to

increase lenders' awareness

of their roles and

responsibilities

in

preventing mortgage fraud.

REORGANIZATION PLANS: PROMOTING EFFECTIVENESS
AND EFFICIENCY
The Department has made several changes in its organization to ensure maximization of resources while remaining as effective and efficient as possible. With those goals in mind, the following changes took place effective January 1, 2006:

Corporate Division Functions:
The Corporate Division is no longer a separate division. The Corporate Division's primary

responsibilities concerned the

processing of applications and

registrations for all supervised

entities with the exception of

mortgage licensees. The

division

also

handled

supervisory functions for Money

Service Businesses.

The

financial institutions (bank, CU,

etc.) application and regulatory

related functions now fall

under the Supervision Division.

With this structural change,

Corporate Manager Murali

Ramachandran reports directly

to Director for Supervision Bob

Rosentreter.

Mortgage Division & Money Service Businesses (MSBs):

The Money Services Businesses (MSBs) functions of the Corporate Division, which include licensing, registration, and regulation functions, now fall under the Mortgage Division. The Mortgage Division's name, changed to reflect these new functions, is now the Non-Depository Financial Institutions Division.

Supervisory Manager for MSBs,

Joel Byers, is responsible for

the licensing and regulation of

MSBs. Administrative Examiner

Tervenia Mitchiner, whose

primary responsibilities concern

money transmitters and sale of

check

licensees,

and

Applications Analyst Susan

Nelson, whose primary

responsibilities concern check

cashing licensees, assist Joel

with these MSB functions.

Joel's direct supervisor is now Director for Mortgage Licensing Melinda Kinard. Melinda's title has been changed to Director of Money Service Businesses and Mortgage Licensing. Rod Carnes' new title is Deputy Commissioner for Non-

Depository Institutions.

Financial

Other Changes:

With the above changes, Carol

Webb, formerly Director of

Corporate Affairs and Strategic

Initiatives, is now Director of

Communications and Planning,

and this area of responsibility

includes website responsibility,

e-commerce

initiatives,

external publications, the

emergency

preparedness

program, strategic and business

planning coordination, and

handling other initiatives of the

Department. Senior Deputy

Commissioner George Reynolds

remains Carol's direct

supervisor.

Other Divisions or Functions Effected:

Administrative Assistant Susan

Brown is now Administrative

Assistant to the Commissioner

and

Senior

Deputy

Commissioner, and she also

provides secondary support to

the Legal and Consumer Affairs

Division (LCA).

With these changes, two positions (Supervisory Manager for Mortgage Licensing and Executive Assistant) have been eliminated. The duties of these two positions are being absorbed by existing personnel.

OUTSTANDING ORDERS: CEASE & DESIST VS CONSENT
ORDERS & REVOCATIONS
There continues to be some confusion regarding the impact administrative actions have on licensees, and against those who are not licensed.

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Licensees must check the Department's website to ensure their potential employees do not have an outstanding Cease & Desist or Consent Order issued by the Department, as well as determine if any broker or lender you conduct business with is not prevented from doing business in the state, be it by failure to obtain a license, or sanctions issued against the license, such as a revocation.

A major point of confusion hinges on the fact that the Department cannot issue a revocation against a company or person for doing mortgage business if they have been operating without the required license. Therefore, in order to sanction those individuals or companies, a Cease and Desist Order (C&D) is issued ("Cease this unlicensed activity".)

In addition to companies or

independent

individuals

working in the industry who fail

to get the required license,

persons issued a C&D may also

include employees of licensees

who may have, for example,

been paid on a 1099 basis or

who may have been working for

two companies at the same

time. Cease and Desist Orders

issued against any of the

aforementioned

entities

prevent them from working in

the industry in Georgia, by

either obtaining their own

license or working for a

licensee, for a period of three

years, commencing from the

date the order became final.

By contrast, licensees against whom a Cease and Desist

Order has been issued are usually able to continue operating in the industry, as these orders are generally issued to effect changes in business practices in lieu of license revocation.
An exception to this general rule would be C&D issued for failure to meet financial standards for licensing. Failure to meet the standard results in expiration of a license if not corrected. Once final, the license is shown as "Expired", not "Revoked".
Often employees of licensees, or the companies themselves, are issued Consent Orders, similar in purpose to a Cease and Desist Order against a licensee. However, these have specific terms and conditions which must be met by the person receiving the Order, and often the terms may be such that a person may not work in the industry for a specified period of time, may work but may not hold specific positions, etc. Licensees should check for outstanding Orders on the web at:
http://www.state.ga.us/dbf/cdorde rs.html

Note in the screen below:
LICENSEE with C&D May or may not show INACTIVE STATUS If no other action prevents them from working in the industry, then there is NO INFORMATION in the INACTIVE STATUS box.
A LICENSEE whose license has been revoked will have that information noted under INACTIVE STATUS note the C&D and Revocation on the screen.
NOT LICENSED shows up next to those who were never licensed and issued a C&D. No notation under INACTIVE STATUS as they were/are NOT LICENSED.
You need to be aware that if a prospective employee has an outstanding Consent Order, you should request a copy from the Department to determine the restrictions that are in place on that employee or potential employee regarding working in the industry in Georgia.

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Other Items

ON-LINE LICENSE RENEWALS: FY2007

As noted last month, the annual license renewal notices should be mailed out the first half of February, 2006.

ON-LINE ONLY!!

Hardcopy renewal application

forms WILL NOT be mailed

with the notice. All renewals

will be made electronically

via the on-line system. Should

your computer access be

limited, local libraries provide

free access to the Internet. In

the event you are absolutely

unable to access the on-line

renewal application, you

should

contact

the

Department.

HOW TO FILE The on-line website is secure and requires a USER ID and PASSWORD for access. See table information below.
System access will be available on the Department's website after the renewal notices have been mailed. A RENEWAL link will also be available from the main mortgage forms page at
http://www.ganet.org/dbf/mortgag e_forms.html.

ALL licensees will be responsible for the following on-line:
Updating detailed license information & correction of any errors in their specific information;

Completing the Calendar Year 2005 operating information on the 2005 Reporting Schedules, and making fee and fine payments and attesting to the renewal information on-line.

The Department, after

review

of

submitted

information, will contact the

licensee if any qualifying

issues or unmet renewal

requirements remain, such as

an expired bond, outstanding

unpaid judgments, or any

pending

administrative

actions which require the

provision of documentation to

the Department. Notification

of these requirements will be

by e-mail or fax only.

Remember, such additional information required must be provided before the renewal can be approved; therefore it is important to provide correct e-mail or fax numbers. Applicants who have no qualifying conditions to their renewal should receive no further notice from the Department after completion

of the application until they receive their license.
To reiterate:
NO hardcopy applications will be accepted.
Payment must be made by ACH draft or credit card.
Notification by e-mail or fax ONLY if there are outstanding issues
FINANCIAL REQUIRMENTSSURETY BONDS or LOCs
Only SURETY BONDS or Letters of Credit (LOC) will qualify a licensee for the financial requirements for renewal. The original bond/LOC must be on file with the Department.

If you have been using your

net worth / audited

financial statements and

have not submitted your

bond or LOC to the

Department, OR there has

been a change in your

existing bond requiring

submission of a new bond or

rider, those bond/riders

must

be

submitted

separately to complete

your renewal.

ONLY Updated or changed surety bond/LOCs must be submitted, under separate

ON-LINE ACCESS: https://bkgfin.dbf.state.ga.us/MortgageDocs/FY2007Renewal.html

User ID Password

License Number SSN or EIN

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cover, in order to complete a renewal. Those who have been using a surety bond or LOC that is still in place with no changes DO NOT need to submit a bond or rider with their renewal.
AUDITS may no longer be used to qualify for licensing, and a surety bond or qualifying letter of credit WILL BE REQUIRED for renewal!
DO NOT submit your audited financials to the department!
If your company is one of those still using an audit and the Department doesn't have your surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit in the appropriate amount ($50,000 - Broker, $150,000 Lender) and on the Department's form prior to renewal, the license will not be renewed. Once the license or registration expires, the licensee or registrant may be required to file an application for REINSTATEMENT, a process that could take eight weeks or more to complete.
LATE FILINGS Renewals are due by the close of business April 1, 2006. Renewals will continue online after April 1, 2006, but note that these are considered LATE renewals, and the late renewal fine of $300 will be automatically added to your renewal fee. The fine, along with any other outstanding fine, must be

paid in order to renew your license.

OUTSTANDING ISSUES All outstanding issues which exist or may arise prior to the license issue date (July 1, 2006), such as any new fines, fees, complaint issues, etc. arising after completing your renewal schedules on-line, must be resolved before your renewal license will be granted.

Licensees who do not resolve these issues in order to complete the renewal process by June 30, 2006 date will have their licenses expire, and will have to cease operations. Failure to properly RENEW a license will require a REINSTATEMENT of the license in order to conduct mortgage business.

CE's-BROKERS

Continuing

Education

requirements begin with the

FY 2008 renewal, not FY2007.

Credits must be earned 1-1-

2006 to 3-31-2007 for the FY

2008 renewal.

QUESTIONS You may contact the office at Renewals if you have any renewal questions. If for some reason you do not receive your renewal notice, the online system will allow you to apply for renewal if you are the appropriate person with the proper user ID and access code.

$6.50" PER LOAN" FEE DUE
$6.50 "per loan" fees for the second half of 2005 (July 1 through December 31, 2005) are now due. Payments must be received by the due date of March 1, 2006. Failure to pay fees owed by the due date can result in a fine of $1,000.
Please make these payments via ACH or credit card on line at the following web-site: https://bkgfin.dbf.state.ga.us/ GRMAFee.html
Should you decide to pay by check, please complete the form on-line, print a copy and send it in with your check payment.

And...Another Word About NET BRANCHES

The Department does not allow

entities licensed under the

Georgia Residential Mortgage Act

to operate net branches in

Georgia.

However,

the

Department recognizes that

many licensees operate in

multiple states and that some

other states do allow net

branches. Consequently, simply

because a licensee's web site

promotes a branching scheme

that is not legal in Georgia, the

Department does not take that

to necessarily mean the licensee

is operating an illegal net branch

or net branches in Georgia.

However, those licensees found

to be operating net branches in

Georgia typically are fined and

administrative actions taken

against the licensee and any

branch manager involved.

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Administrative Actions and Issues
CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS Issued
Collier, Milton dba National Association of Investors and Mortgage Co., Atlanta, GA Cease and Desist Order issued October 31, 2005 became final on December 1, 2005.
Franklin Mortgage Corporation, Stone Mountain, GA (license no. 19570) Cease and Desist Order issued December 8, 2005 became final on December 29, 2005.
Omni Financial Services, Inc., Hoffman Estates, IL (license no. 13196) Cease and Desist Order issued December 9, 2005 became final on December 29, 2005.
Prime Capital Group, LLC, Atlanta, GA (license no. 19951) Cease and Desist Order issued November 21, 2005 became final on December 26, 2005.
CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS Lifted None
FINAL CONSENT ORDERS Issued Nichols, Aisha Hobbs, Lithonia, GA Consent Order issued December 13, 2005 became final on December 13 2005. Robinson, Tanya, College Park, GA Consent Order issued December 1, 2005 became final on December 1, 2005.
SUPERIOR COURT INJUNCTIONS Bates, Vickee, Woodstock, GA - Consent Order issued December 5, 2005 became final on December 5, 2005.

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FINE PUBLICATION
Information regarding fines assessed against a specific licensee and against whom there are no pending administrative actions, is available on an individual licensee basis by submitting a written request to the following e-mail address: dbfmort@dbf.state.ga.us

FINE REASON

3 Licensees fined for Advertising Violations 5 Licensees fined for Background Check
Violations 5 Licensees fined for Books & Records 1 Licensee fined for Unapproved Branch 1 Licensee fined for Unapproved Branch Manager

4 Licensees filed for Loan files not properly maintained 7 Licensees fined for Prohibited Act 1 Licensee fined for Relocation of office w/o notice 2 Licensees fined fordoing business w/ unlicensed entity 2 Licensees fined for Miscellaneous/Other

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS APPROVED OR REINSTATED IN DECEMBER 2005

ID# COMPANY NAME

CITY

20849 Distinctive Mortgage, Inc. 20882 Envision Lending Group, Inc. 20916 Popular Mortgage Servicing, Inc. 20917 Popular Housing Services, Inc. 20927 Vera E. Holliday

Pembroke Pines Salt Lake City Cherry Hill Jacksonville Stone Mountain

20928 Green Grass Mortgage, LLC

Lilburn

20871 HomeKey Lending, Inc.

Suwanee

20937 Derek Justin Pilkington

Atlanta

20941 Chesapeake Capital Mtg Corporation Pasadena

20976 Seaboard Lending Group, LLC

Pompano Beach

20977 MD Mortgage Corporation

Reisterstown

20979 Hometown Mortgage USA, Inc.

Woodstock

20980 Allstate Mtg & Loan Corporation

Clearwater

7268 Ameron Mortgage Corporation

Marietta

17727 Merit Financial, Inc.

Kirkland

20229 Northland Finance & Lending, LLC * Hiawassee

20364 United Pacific Realty and Invt, Inc. * Lake Forest

20681 Franklin Credit Mgmt Corp +

New York

20902 Blue Marble Lending, Inc.

Tampa

20929 America's Lending Leader, LLC

Smyrna

20932 John J. Jorgensen

Atlanta

20945 Hughs Mortgage Resources, Inc.

Gainesville

20960 MTS Financial, LLC

Villa Rica

20986 Harmony Mortgage Finance Corp. Jonesboro

20995 Home Mortgage Financial Corp. + Marietta

21012 Harold Avan Lawson

Lithonia

21023 Ridgeland Mortgage Services, LLC Marietta

20883 Century Pacific Mtg Corporation

Norcross

20964 Intergroup, Inc.

Canton

MB

ORIGINAL

ST CODE APPROVAL RENEWAL REINSTATED

FL

B

UT

B

NJ

R

FL

R

GA

B

12-02-2005 12-02-2005 12-02-2005 12-02-2005 12-02-2005

12-02-2005 12-02-2005 12-02-2005 12-02-2005 12-02-2005

GA

B

GA

B

GA

B

MD

B

FL

L

MD

B

GA

B

FL

L

GA

B

WA

B

GA

L

CA

L

NY

L

FL

B

GA

B

GA

B

GA

B

GA

B

GA

B

GA

L

GA

B

GA

B

GA

L

GA

L

12-02-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 08-04-1995 01-03-2003 04-01-2005 07-15-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005

12-02-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-16-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005

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LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS APPROVED OR REINSTATED IN DECEMBER 2005

ID# COMPANY NAME

CITY

ST

20969 Nextlevel Financial, LLC

Acworth

GA

20970 BPSC, LLC

Decatur

GA

20985 AlliedState Mortgage, LLC

Snellville

GA

20990 Mandalay Mortgage, LLC

Woodland Hills

CA

20996 Pacific Residential, Inc.

Corona

CA

20997 CBO Financial Mortgages, LLC

Canton

GA

21001 Guaranteed Finl Svcs Corp

Duluth

GA

21009 Island Time Properties, LLC

Gainesville

GA

20971 Century Finl Svcs, LLC (SC)

Lexington

SC

20991 United Mortgage Corp. (NY)

Hauppauge

NY

21011 Interstate Mortgage Network, Inc.

Laguna Hills

CA

14389 Homeowners Mtg of America, Inc. Marietta

GA

16602 Liberty Mortgage, Inc

Jacksonville

FL

19789 Acceptance Capital MtgCorporation Spokane Valley

WA

20131 Direct Mortgage Of SC., Inc.

Charleston

SC

11808 AMERA Mortgage Corporation

FARMINGTON HILLS MI

12794 Riviera Mortgage, LLC

ATLANTA

GA

12681 Homes 4 U, Inc.

Jonesboro

GA

19152 Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC

Highlands Ranch

CO

MB CODE
B B B L L B B B B L L L B B L L B B L

ORIGINAL APPROVAL
12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-30-2005 12-30-2005 12-30-2005 02-26-1999 08-10-2001 11-19-2004 02-11-2005 10-01-1996 08-29-1997 08-08-1997 06-25-2004

RENEWAL
12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-30-2005 12-30-2005 12-30-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-30-2005 12-30-2005

REINSTATED
12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-09-2005 12-23-2005 12-23-2005 12-30-2005 12-30-2005

TOTAL: 48

LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS REVOKED, EXPIRED, SURRENDERED, WITHDRAWN OR DENIED IN DECEMBER 2005

ID# NAME
6054 CUNA MUTUAL MTG CORP 6901 MIDLAND MTG CO 12005 AMER MONEYLINE INC 12109 GA STATE MTG INC 12266 GEORGETOWN MTG INC 13196 OMNI FUNDING GRP 15175 SEA BREEZE FINL SVCS INC 16144 RODNEY SMITH INC 16153 CREATIVE MTG CONCEPTS LLC 16597 UNIMTG LLC 17063 AMER MTG NETWORK INC 17275 WATERMARK FINL PARTNERS 18508 KB HM MTG CO 18538 FIVE STAR FUNDING INC

CODE
LD LD LD BD LD BD LD BD BD LD LD LD LD BD

REVOKED EXPIRED SURRENDERED
12-12-2005 12-29-2005

WITHDRAWN 12-30-2005 12-07-2005 12-30-2005
12-15-2005
12-05-2005 12-30-2005 12-30-2005 12-07-2005 12-21-2005 12-05-2005 12-05-2005 12-20-2005

DENIED

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LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS REVOKED, EXPIRED, SURRENDERED, WITHDRAWN OR DENIED IN DECEMBER 2005

ID# NAME
18548 BELL, MICHAEL 18607 IBEX NETWORKS INC 19555 WOODMEN MTG SVCS INC 19751 ACS MTG INC 19951 PRIME CAP GRP LLC
TOTAL: 19

CODE
BD LD LD BD LD

REVOKED EXPIRED SURRENDERED 12-15-2005
12-26-2005

WITHDRAWN
12-30-2005 12-30-2005 12-07-2005

DENIED

2006 State Holidays:
The following is a list of State Holidays when the Capitol and all State agencies will be closed in 2006.

HOLIDAY New Year's Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Confederate Memorial Day Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans' Day Thanksgiving Day Robert E. Lee's Birthday Christmas Day Washington's Birthday

DATE

OBSERVANCE

Sunday, January 1

will be observed Monday, January 2

Sunday January 15

will be observed Monday, January 16

Wednesday, April 26

will be observed on Monday, April 24

Monday, May 29

Tuesday, July 4

Monday, September 4

Monday, October 9

Saturday, November 11 will be observed on Friday, November 10

Thursday, November 23

Thursday, January 19

will be observed on Friday, November 24

Monday, December 25

Wednesday, February 22 will be observed on Tuesday, December 26

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