Georgia Department of Banking & Finance NON-DEPOSITORY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Monthly Summary of Mortgage Activities For the Period Ending January, 2006 Inside this issue: NEWS 2 Continuing Education 2 Background Checks & 2 Investigation Firms "d/b/a" Names 3 Real Estate and 4 Administrative Actions 5 ON-Line Renewals The on-line website is secure and requires a USER ID and PASSWORD for access. See site at: http:// www.state.ga.us/dbf/ mortgage_forms.html NEWS On-Line Renewals Renewal notices are going out by February 10, 2006. Please note the following: ON-LINE ONLY!! As noted, hardcopy renewal application forms WILL NOT be available. All renewals must be made through the on-line system. Local libraries provide free access to the Internet should you need alternate access. In the event you are absolutely unable to access the online renewal application, you should contact the Department. WHERE & HOW TO FILE Access will be available after the renewal notices have been mailed. A RENEWAL link will also be available from the main mortgage forms web page as noted at left. ALL licensees will be responsible for the following on-line: Updating and correcting license information; Completing the Calendar Year 2005 operating information; Making fee and fine payments and attesting to the renewal information. If any renewal requirements exist, such as an expired bond, outstanding judgments, or pending administrative actions or issues, the licensee will be notified by either email or fax only. Make certain you enter a valid email address when prompted on the renewal screens and make certain we have a valid fax number. Information required to clear exceptions must be provided before the renewal can be approved. 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. AGAIN-NEW FEATURES NO hardcopy applications will be accepted. Payment must be made by ACH draft or credit card. Notification by e-mal or fax ONLY if there are outstanding issues. SURETY BONDS or LOCs AUDITS may no longer be used to qualify for licensing, and a surety bond or qualifying letter of credit WILL BE REQUIRED for renewal! Continued on Page 2 Page 2 AUDITS DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR AUDITED FINANCIALS TO THE DEPARTMENT! BONDS OR LETTERS OF CREDIT ONLY MAY BE USED TO MEET THE FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A LICENSE! 2990 Brandywine Rd. Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30341 Phone: 770.986.1269 Fax: 770.986.1029 Monthly Summary of Mortgage Activities For the Period Ending January, 2006 Renewals-Cont. from Page 1 If you are still relying on an audit and the Department has not received your surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit in the appropriate amount ($50,000 - Broker, $150,000 - Lender) 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 can be completed on-line after April 1, 2006, but 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. You will be notified. 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. 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 on-line system will allow you to apply for renewal if you are the appropriate person with the proper user ID and access code. CONTINUING EDUCATION-BROKERS The continuing education reporting requirement goes into effect with the FY2008 licensing period. Brokers must obtain 12 hours of continuing education credit in the period January 1, 2006 through March 1, 2007, the initial period in which to obtain continuing education credits, in order to renew for the FY2008 license. NO continuing education credit reporting is required for the FY2007 renewal period. See additional information on the web at: https://bkgfin.dbf.state.ga. us/MortgageDocs/FY2007Re newal.html ON-LINE ACCESS User ID Password https://bkgfin.dbf.state.ga.us/MortgageDocs/FY2007R enewal.html Your License Number Your SSN or EIN on file with the Department Monthly Summary of Mortgage Activities For the Period Ending January, 2006 BACKGROUND CHECKS & INVESTIGATION FIRMS Page 3 The Department recently received information from a third party provider of criminal history background checks indicating that he was being told by licensees that they were unable to use his company's services. Specifically he referenced the changes made to the rules of the Department which became final August15, 2005 to Regulation 80-11-1-.05 (1). Apparently licensees indicated that the change requires a licensed mortgage company to use a Georgia law enforcement agency to complete criminal history checks of employees to the exclusion of hiring properly licensed investigation companies. However, that assumption is incorrect. The revised regulation requires that employers submit background information to law enforcement authorities. However, that submission may be completed through a properly licensed company authorized to obtain background information from the law enforcement agency, or directly to a law enforcement agency by the licensee. Either action is in compliance with the regulation and the requirements of the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act as long as the review is ultimately handled by the Georgia Crime Information Center pursuant to Code Section 35-3-34 and the rules and regulations of the Georgia Crime Information Center. In addition, please note the following restrictions regarding background checks: 1) the employer must submit the information to either the investigation company or directly to the law enforcement agency for review within 10 business days of initial hiring of the employee. The 10 days does not begin with the submission of information to the investigation company or law enforcement, but is based on the initial hiring date; 2) the check must be unlimited in the number of years reviewed for criminal activity (i.e. no 7 or 10 year only checks) and; 3) these cannot be "felony only" checks. "DOING BUSINESS AS" NAMES USE OF PROPERLY LICENSED INVESTIGATIONS COMPANIES TO RUN BACKGROUND CHECKS ON EMPLOYEES IS PERMISSIBLE, AS LONG AS THE CHECK MEETS THE CRITERIA NOTED. Often licensees comment on the fact that the Department has permitted the use of a company name by another company that is similar to their company's name or d/b/a (fictitious) name. Under Georgia law, O.C.G.A. 14-2-401 (profit) and 14-3-401 (nonprofit), issuance of a name by the Secretary of State means merely that the name is distinguishable for filing purposes from the names of other entities on the records of the Corporations Division. Approval of a d/b/a name by the Mortgage Division for a corporation for a license properly approved by the Secretary of State to do business in Georgia does not necessarily give a person the exclusive right to use of that name. Subsection (e) of the code sections cited above provides that "this chapter does not control the use of fictitious or trade names" and that "issuance of a corporate name does not affect the commercial availability of the name." Continued on Page 4 Page 4 DBF On the Web............. Web Page http://www.state.ga.us/ dbf/ Administrative Actions https:// bkgfin.dbf.state.ga.us/ WebAdmActions.html Staff: http://www.state.ga.us/ dbf/staff.html Monthly Summary of Mortgage Activities DBAs-Cont. from Page 3 For the Period Ending January, 2006 D/B/A (fictitious) names are granted by the Clerk of the Superior Court in the Georgia county in which a licensee is domi- ciled or operates an additional (branch) office. There are 159 counties in the State of Georgia and each county operates autonomously with respect to fictitious name approvals. Generally, however, the Department does endeavor to review all submit- ted d/b/a names to prevent confusion on the part of the public with regard to li- censees. Yet, if names are significantly different in spelling or some other manner as to preclude the Department from rejecting the use of the name by the company, then the approval and use of the name is allowed as approved by the Court. Therefore, licensees need to understand that approval of a corporate or d/b/a name by the Department as properly approved by the Secretary of State and the appropriate Court does not necessarily give a company exclusive right to the use of the name. Use of a fictitious name, however, must be approved by the Department in order for that name to be used in their mortgage business by the licensee, and as noted the Department endeavors to make distinctions where possible. And... Real Estate and Mortgage Licensing Issues Often the question arises as to whether or not an individual may have a mortgage license and also a real estate license and perform both functions. For purposes of the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act ("GRMA"), there is no prohibition against an individual holding both licenses, although there may be concerns at the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding company affiliations and proper disclosures regarding that relationship. However, under the GRMA the manner by which a person is compensated under their licenses can be an issue, as follows: If a person is working for a mortgage licensee and DOES NOT have his or her own license under the GRMA, then they must be a W-2 paid employee for their work for a mortgage licensee. Often the person will be compensated on a 1099 basis by the REAL ESTATE company they are working for but they cannot be paid on a 1099 basis by the mortgage licensee. If a person is working for a mortgage licensee and DOES have his or her own license as a sole proprietor, then they can be compensated for their mortgage related work on a 1099 basis by that licensee as well as receive compensation under their real estate license in whatever form that company chooses to compensate its agents. However, the one thing the person cannot do is work for two mortgage licensees unless they have their own license as a sole proprietor. In that case they can be paid on a 1099 basis or a W-2 basis by their mortgage licensee employer, and additionally originate loans under their own mortgage license, those being the two licenses for which they may work. In no case can an individual, without their own individual mortgage license as a sole proprietor, work for more than one mortgage licensee and be paid by both either on a W-2 or a 1099 basis. The GRMA clearly states that to be exempt from licensing, an individual must work for only one licensee and be paid as an employee, which would require wages paid on a W-2 basis. An individual who holds a license in a company name would violate this act if they also worked for someone else. Administrative Actions Page 5 CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS--ISSUED ABC Mortgage Services, Inc., Augusta, GA (license no. 15290) Cease and Desist Order issued December 6, 2005 became final on January 5, 2006. Barone-Wingate, Shana, Douglasville, GA Cease and Desist Order issued December 16, 2005 became final on January 16, 2006. Brashears, James, d/b/a Semaj & Company, Inc., Conyers, GA Cease and Desist Order issued December 8, 2005 became final on January 8, 2006. Consumer's Choice Mortgage, Inc., Woodstock, GA (license no. 18619) Cease and Desist Order issued December 15, 2005 became final on January 13, 2006. Council, Eugene, College Park, GA Cease and Desist Order issued June 2, 2005 became final January 11, 2006. Davis, Rachel Mae, Dawsonville, GA (license no. 19932) Cease and Desist Order issued December 21, 2005 became final on January 20, 2006. First City Mortgage Corp. (Atlanta), Milwaukee, WI (license no. 19050) Cease and Desist Order issued December 20, 2005 became final on January 19, 2006. Fraire, Juan Carlos, Kennesaw, GA (license no. 19940) Cease and Desist Order issued December 7, 2005 became final on January 6, 2006. Frank, Janice Clark, Columbus, GA (license no. 18374) Cease and Desist Order issued December 21, 2005 became final on January 20, 2006. Le, Rocky, Dacula, GA Cease and Desist Order issued December 14, 2005 became final on January 3, 2006. The Loan Page, Inc., San Francisco, CA (license no. 20445) Cease and Desist Order issued January 4, 2005 became final on January 27, 2006. Morales, Evelin aka Evelyn Morales Cease and Desist Order issued December 20, 2005 became final on January 20, 2006. Continued on Page 6 Page 6 CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS--ISSUED (Continued) Thompson, Jon M., Duluth, GA (license no. 11390) Cease and Desist Order issued December 2, 2005 became final on January 1, 2006. Williams, Shalonne, Macon, GA (license 20232) Cease and Desist Order issued January 4, 2006 became final on January 27, 2006 CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS--LIFTED None FINAL CONSENT ORDERS--ISSUED First Place Home Loans, Norcross, GA (license no. 14974) Consent Order issued January 11, 2006 became final on January 11, 2006. SUPERIOR COURT INJUNCTIONS None 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 2 Licensees fined for Advertising Violations 1 Licensee fined for Background Check Violations 1 Licensee fined for Books & Records 1 Licensee fined for Employer under C& D or Revocation 3 Licensees filed for Loan files not properly maintained 1 Licensee fined for $6.50 fees not paid 1 Licensee fined for GaFLA violation 1 Licensee fined for Prohibited Acts 1 Licensee fined for Relocation of office w/o notice 1 Licensee fined for Miscellaneous/Other Page 7 LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS APPROVED OR REINSTATED IN JANUARY 2006 ID# COMPANY NAME CITY MB ORIGINAL ST CODE APPROVAL RENEWAL REINSTATED 18855 Ocwen Finl Solutions Private Bangalore L 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 20798 BLX Capital, LLC 20799 Business Loan Center, LLC New York New York NY L 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 NY L 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 20841 TLS Mortgage Funding, Inc. Conyers GA B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 20992 Free Home Mortgage, Inc. Canton GA B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 20998 Oxford Mortgage Corporation, Greenwood Village CO B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 21007 Lordsman, Inc. Newport Beach CA B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 21031 Smart Mortgage, Inc. Suwanee GA B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 21043 Advantage Family Protection, Norcross GA B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 21047 Gary Leland Bailey, Jr. Duluth 21048 The Aliso Pacific Company, LLC 21062 Malcap Mortgage, LLC Aliso Viejo Nashville 21066 AAA Worldwide Financial, Co. Dallas 21070 South Coast Mortgage, Inc. Savannah 21085 Dove Capital Corporation Anaheim Hills 20700 Stecroft Holdings, Inc. Aliso Viejo 20778 QuoteMatch, LLC San Diego 20889 Patti Leigh Dixon Snellville 20975 Sherwood Capital of WNC, Inc. Waynesville 20978 Alliance Capital Mtg Corporation 21014 WebTreeloan.com, Inc. Duluth Marietta 21015 Main Street Financial Mortgage, Atlanta GA B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 CA L 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 TN B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 TX L 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 GA B 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 CA L 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 CA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 CA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 NC L 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA L 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 21016 Prime Mortgage Lending, LLC Doraville 21017 SouthCoast Mortgage Services, Savannah LLC 21024 Park Place Reverse Mortgage, Atlanta GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA L 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 21028 Nationwide Security Mtg Corpo- Orange ration 21036 Neighbors Mortgage, LLC Tucker 21057 Allstate Lending Group, Inc. 21058 Cassell-Fetherston Mortgage, LLC 21060 Resurgens Lending Group, Inc. Atlanta Sharpsburg Marietta 21065 Little Penguin, LLC Atlanta 21080 Executive Capital Mortgage, Atlanta CA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA L 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 21090 AIMS Financial, LLC 16081 LenderLive Network Inc. + Atlanta Glendale GA B 01-13-2006 01-13-2006 CO B 10-06-2000 01-20-2006 Page 8 LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS APPROVED OR REINSTATED IN JANUARY 2006 ID# COMPANY NAME CITY MB ORIGINAL ST CODE APPROVAL RENEWAL REINSTATED 20329 SBBnet, Inc. 20908 Americor Lending Group, Inc. 20921 Coldstream Financial Services, Evergreen Irvine Cincinnati CO B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 CA L 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 OH B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 20966 DB Structured Products, Inc. New York NY L 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 21000 Mortgage Hunters, LLC Stone Mountain GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 American Home Loan Lenders, 21008 LLC Home Loans of Pennsylvania, 21044 LLC 21061 Smartloanlender.com, Inc. 21068 Ko-Am Finance, Inc. 21075 Select Home Mortgage, LLC 21079 Olympia, Inc. 21088 Desiree A. Perez 21091 Thomas Augustus Hunter 21102 Norma Jenkins 21106 Avery Mortgage, Inc. 21117 Melissa L. Storey 20988 Earl F. Johnson 21045 Christensen Financial, Inc. 21046 Eastern Finl Home Loans Corp 21081 Emcore Mortgage, LLC 21087 James Richard Morrow 21101 Greenlink Financial Services, LLC 21103 Chartraw Mortgage, LLC 21113 Advisors of Southern Lending, LLC 21114 Capital Management Mortgage, LLC 21119 J R Financial & Capital, Inc. 21139 First Alliance Mtg Corp of Delaware 21156 Alexander Bradley 16917 Tommie J. Black Suwanee Pittsburgh Conyers Suwaneet Duluth Marietta Columbus Dawsonville Atlanta Atlanta Rome Redding Longwood Miami Lakes Atlanta Atlanta Lilburn Columbus Buford Atlanta Roswell Hollywood Atlanta Bogart GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 PA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 GA B 01-20-2006 01-20-2006 CA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 FL L 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 FL L 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 FL L 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 01-27-2006 01-27-2006 GA B 11-30-2001 01-06-2006 01-06-2006 TOTAL: 63 Page 9 LICENSEES/REGISTRANTS REVOKED, EXPIRED, SURRENDERED, WITHDRAWN OR DENIED ID# NAME IN JANUARY 2006 CODE REVOKED EXPIRED SURRENDERED WITHDRAWN DENIED 6329 GA EQUITY MTG INC 6347 WALKER, JAMES RANDALL 11390 THOMPSON, JON M 12468 FIDELITY MTG INC 14974 1ST PLACE HM LOANS 15012 RBC MTG CO 15136 FIN AMERICA LLC 15290 ABC MTG SVCS INC 18243 HIGHLAND MTG GRP LLC 18374 FRANK, JANICE CLARK 18619 CONSUMERS CHOICE MTG INC 18665 LAKE VIEW MTG INC 18671 GEORGIAS SOUTHERN MTG 19050 1ST CITY MTG CORP 19135 ISLANDS MTG INC 19166 HOMEQUEST CAP FUNDING 19531 ABETTERWAYHOME FIN LLC 19532 ABETTERWAYHOME FIN LLC 19737 GREESON MTG CO 19932 DAVIS, RACHEL MAE 19940 FRAIRE, JUAN CARLOS 20135 CITI GRP FINL MTG CORP 20197 FIDELITY MTG CTR LLC 20232 WILLIAMS, SHALONNE 20445 LOAN PAGE INC TOTAL: 25 BD BD BD 01-01-2006 LD BD RD LD BD 01-05-2006 BD BD 01-20-2006 BD 01-13-2006 BD PD BD 01-19-2006 BD LD LD LD BD BD 01-20-2006 BD 01-06-2006 BD 01-04-2006 BD BD 01-27-2006 BD 01-27-2006 01-11-2006 01-04-2006 01-04-2006 01-24-2006 01-10-2006 01-04-2006 01-18-2006 01-24-2006 01-10-2006 01-18-2006 01-30-2006 01-30-2006 01-30-2006 01-30-2006 01-30-2006 MB CODES B = BROKER L = LENDER R = REGISTRANT * Upgrade Broker to Lender + Downgrade Lender to Broker # Upgrade Lender to Registrant Downgrade Registrant to Lender