California Mortgage License - A Must for a Californian Broker

Licensed Californian Brokers have undergone extensive training and possess a California Mortgage License. There is actually no separate Californian Mortgage License or Californian Mortgage Broker License. Anyone who has a California Real Estate Broker License is automatically licensed to work as a mortgage broker in California.

There are, in fact, two separate ways to becoming a mortgage broker in California. One is through the California Department of Corporations, based on the California Finance Lenders Law (CFL). The other is through The California Department of Real Estate (DRE).

If you have been licensed under the DRE, you can perform the normal broker and negotiating business with banks, thrift and loans, savings and loans, and credit unions.

If licensed to perform under the Department of Corporations, you can negotiate loans only with mortgage lenders licensed under the CFL.

Here are some details about both the procedures to get the Californian Mortgage License:

California Mortgage License - Under CFL Law
If you are a mortgage broker, licensed under CFL Law of the California Department of Corporations, you are also known as the negotiator, and as having a Negotiator License.

You are only authorized to act as a negotiator to negotiate loans made by a licensed lender under CFL Law. You are not authorized to make direct loans, nor authorized to negotiate or broker loans to institutions authorized to mortgage brokers under the DRE.

Licenses issued under the CFL Law are neither transferable nor assignable, and may be issued to individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), and partnerships.

When applying for a California Mortgage License under CFL, you need to furnish proof of US citizenship or of your Alien status. You will also need to furnish detailed information about your past, your prior ten-year work history, and residence with names and addresses. You need not take an examination or any continuing education courses to get a Californian Mortgage Broker License under this scheme.

You further pay a non-refundable $200 application fee and a $100 investigation fee. You must obtain and maintain a Surety Bond of $25,000 to guarantee the license.

California Mortgage License - Under California's DRE
If you have a California Real Estate Broker License, you are automatically licensed to operate as a Californian Mortgage Broker. This allows you to list and sell real estate and negotiate loans. You can also negotiate first mortgages or subordinate mortgages.

You cannot automatically broker or negotiate a deal in California even if you are a licensed mortgage broker in any other state of the union. You still need a California Real Estate Broker License.
You can, however, co-broker a mortgage deal and share the commission with someone who already has a California Real Estate Broker License.

After paying an examination fee of $50, you'll need to sit for an examination covering all aspects of the real estate business and real estate financing. Prior to this examination, you'll also need to have finished two college-level statutory courses. After becoming a California Mortgage Broker, you need to take 45 hours of approved continuing education courses.

When applying for a DRE Californian Mortgage Broker License, you pay a $165 license fee and a $65 fingerprinting fee.

California Mortgage License and Internet Advertisement
Without a Californian Mortgage Broker License, you may not solicit California residents for mortgage offers failing which you could be sanctioned by a Desist and Refrain Order.