Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals

The future is yours for the asking…give us your feedback!

Blog Manager — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:00:00 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals

Effective July 1 Dan Huss is the new president of AzAMP. He would like the feedback of mortgage professionals -- whether you're a member or not -- on how the association can be improved.

Please e-mail Dan with your input on what value you'd like to see provided by AzAMP. It's your chance to sound off and help impact the future of the association and the industry.

Thank you.

AzAMP Incoming President Dan Huss

Blog Manager — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:40:45 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals
A Message from AzAMP incoming President Dan Huss

Dan Huss
Cell 602-577-0396
E-mail – Click Here

AzAMP Board Retreat
Saturday, July 10
9:00 a.m. continental breakfast
9:30 a.m. meeting begins

Retreat Location
AmeriFirst Financial, Inc
Stapley Corporate Center
1910 S. Stapley Drive
Suite 209
Mesa, AZ 85204
If the doors are locked, call Paul Klimke at 602-402-1801.

Take Action! Financial Regulatory Reform Legislation

Blog Manager — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:10:04 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals
An important message from Jody Davis, AzAMP Legislative Affairs Chair

All Arizona Mortgage Professionals,

You have the ability to kill HR 4173. I urge you to call, fax, and email your senators and congressmen urging them to vote NO on HR4173. This is your last chance to protect your ability to earn a living. Many of the banks do not like the changes in the bill either so we have some help...it is not just a broker issue.

Please take five minutes to do this. Our industry needs you to contact members of congress. Do it today! They could vote on this as early as tomorrow.

For more information and to send emails to your U.S. Senators and House of Representatives CLICK HERE. It’s easy and well worth five minutes of your time.

Thank You

Jody Davis
AzAMP Legislative chair

AZ Foreclosure Picture

Blog Manager — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:59:43 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals

AzAMP's Vice President Paul Klimke was interviewed by KTAR this morning about the Arizona foreclosure situation. Here's a portion of the online article that followed the radio interview.

AZ foreclosure picture is murky
by Bob McClay, Kevin Tripp, KTAR
June 23rd, 2010

PHOENIX -- More people lost their homes as bank repossessions nationwide hit a monthly record high in May, according to Realty-Trac. But, those figures may not reflect what's happening in Arizona.

Lenders nationwide took back just under 94,000 properties in May, up 1 percent from April and 44 percent more than in May of 2009.

Paul Klimke of Amerifirst Financial said banks are now foreclosing on properties on which they had been slow to act for whatever reason -- "They didn't have the capacity to handle them or they are homes that could have very possibly been delayed from foreclosure because they were in the loan modification process."

Things are different in Arizona, Klimke said.

"Although our activity in May increased 1 percent over the activity in April, the actual foreclosure activity in Arizona is down 5 percent from May of 2009."

Whether that trend continues remains to be seen, he said.

"Some of the foreclosures that were going to happen happened earlier in Arizona," said Klimke. "So we may be on the tailend of that. On the other hand, it might not have hit Arizona yet. We don't know what the numbers are for June and July. It's entirely possible that they will be up. We'll just have to wait and see."

Klimke said 55 percent of Arizona homeowners are "under water," meaning they owe more on their mortgage than what their home is worth.

Important MLO Licensing Update

Blog Manager — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:07:52 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals

Not sure if you or your employees will have a new MLO license by the July 1, 2010 deadline?

Watch this video update from AzAMP Vice President Paul Klimke, who received his information directly from a meeting with the licensing managers at AzDFI.

Also find out how many licenses have been issued and how many are still under review.

Urgent Legislative Call-to-Action

Blog Manager — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:34:27 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals

Dear Mortgage Professional,

Please answer this call to action, your livelihood depends on it.
Take 5 minutes to make the call or send the letter.

Jody Davis
Legislative Chair, AzAMP

LEGISLATIVE ALERT

Dear NAMB Member,

Yesterday, the Senate passed an amendment offered by Senators Merkley (D-OR) and Klobuchar (D-MN) to S. 3217, the "Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010," that would prohibit the total amount of direct and indirect compensation paid to mortgage originators from varying based on the terms of a loan, and place a cap on income. The amendment, SA 3962, was issued after business hours on Tuesday night, fully knowing that NAMB would call on grassroots support to contact their Senators to oppose the amendment. Despite the NAMB "Call to Action" issued, the amendment was voted on and passed early Wednesday morning.

NAMB's advocacy team is exploring all options to fight the amendment. NAMB urges its members to still participate in the "Call to Action;" your Senators must hear from their constituents about how this amendment will not only hurt your customers, but hurt small businesses in their state. Send the letter below to your Senator immediately.

For a copy of the bill, click here.

For your Senator’s contact information, click here.

Dear Senator ______,

I write to you today as a small business mortgage professional, and member of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), regarding an amendment (SA. 3962) introduced by Senators Merkley (D-OR) and Klobuchar (D-MN) to S. 3217, the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010” which was approved. I have serious concerns with the amendment and fear it will harm small business and consumers nationwide. For the reasons below, I strongly urge you to oppose this, and any other amendment, that would treat origination channels differently, picking winners and losers in the mortgage industry.

I believe the amendment will severely limit a consumer’s choice of how best to pay for their home by removing a choice of paying closing costs in the interest rate. It will also restrict me from legitimately and legally compensating my employees. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Board issued proposed amendments to Regulation Z to prohibit steering late last year which was subject to notice and comments and addresses many of the issues contained in this amendment but in a comprehensive manner. That rule is in the final rulemaking stages. Congress should allow the Federal Reserve Board to continue reviewing comments and developing a final rule that will deter incentivized fees and steering consumers, while preserving mortgage originators’ ability to receive compensation without creating an unlevel playing field between competitors.

I have been witness to great hardship as a small business because of the economic decline and its effect on the industry. Small businesses, the cornerstone of American economic prosperity, should not be penalized for helping consumers. The amendment will not only put small business at a disadvantage to larger lenders, but will inevitably force me to close my doors. Less competition in the mortgage industry will drive up costs and remove affordable options for consumers. In particular, low income, minority and rural community borrowers will be hurt the most because this amendment as it will remove competition from the marketplace.

I urge you to ask that the amendment be removed from the bill or fixed so that consumers will continue to have choices at the closing table and mortgage originator’s will continue to serve consumers in their communities. Small business mortgage professionals like me will be forced to close their doors should this amendment be included in the financial regulatory reform bill.

Thank you for your time and consideration on this issue.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Mortgage Loan Originator License - Arizona Specific Checklist

Blog Manager — Fri, 07 May 2010 10:01:09 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals

For those still completing SAFE Act pre-licensing professionals requirements (20 hours of education, tests, finger prints...) for the mortgage loan originator license, did you know there are also Arizona-specific requirements?

Since we're receiving calls from some people surprised to find out about these requirements, you can find them listed on this checklist.

Please note that these "jurisdiction-specific requirements" are due to the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions within 5 business days of the electronic submission of your application through NMLS.

Be sure to click on the link above and carefully read what's expected of you.

We've changed our name! Find out more here.

New Game, New Name - The Arizona Association of Mortgage PROFESSIONALS

Blog Manager — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:45:29 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals
New Game. New Name.

The association is changing it's name! After today, it'll be known as the Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals, or AzAMP for short.

Why the change? Here are several reasons:

The New Economic Reality
Because of tougher underwriting, legislation that restricts business and an anticipated slow recovery of the real estate market, it's a whole new ball game when it comes to originating loans.

Today's mortgage professionals need to find new ways to provide value to a small borrower base in a sluggish economy. The days of order-taking are over. It's a new day that demands innovation, building long-term relationships, specializing in niche markets, diversifying services and looking at social media strategies to connect with consumers.

Nation-wide, Basic, Uniform Criteria for Licensing
Arizona, in complying with the Federal S.A.F.E. Act, now requires all loan originators (LO) who work for mortgage brokers, mortgage bankers and consumer lenders to have an Arizona LO license and to obtain a unique identifier in the NMLS, the "common computer system/record keeper", if you will, of all the states. Each state enacted laws using the S.A.F.E. Act model, yet still maintained its own unique statutory climate, some more onerus than others. There are stricter standards in place for staying in the business and higher standards for new people entering the industry. This obviously has had the effect of weeding out many of those who gave this industry a bad name during the prosperous times.

The positive effect is that consumers will be dealing with more professional, experienced and better-screened mortgage loan originators. For those sticking it out, it means there'll be less competition in the market.

Broker Model in Transition
Given all the changes hitting the industry, it's not an exaggeration to say that the broker model is undergoing significant change. With fewer "true brokers" in the market, and with many brokers going to work for banks, the new association name opens the door for more involvement and participation by a broader group of mortgage professionals. This is certainly reflected in the successful and recent collaboration between AzAMP and AMLA. Together, we have a stronger voice.

New game. New name. Be a part of the winning team!

"How much will my new Mortgage Loan Originator license cost?"

Blog Manager — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:35:38 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Brokers

AAMB has been receiving lots of calls recently from people wondering how much it'll cost to get licensed under the new SAFE Act requirements for Mortgage Loan Originators.

Here's an approximate break-down of what someone can expect to pay in total. Please be sure to conduct your own research as these amounts could change and certainly vary depending on your education choice.

$299 - 20 Hour NMLS approved course (by AAMB)
$30 - NMLS Course Upload fees
$92 - National Test Fee
$69 - State test Fee
$39 - Fingerprint fee (electronic)
$100 - Surety Bond/Recovery Fund
$350 - AzDFI Application Fee
$150 - AzDFI Licensing Fee

Approximate Total $1,129

Analysis of the Wall Street Collapse and Mortgage Meltdown

Blog Manager — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:07:00 -0700

Arizona Association of Mortgage Brokers

Lot's of people are talking about last Sunday's 60 Minutes interview with author Michael Lewis about his new book called The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine.

If you missed it, follow the link below to watch video of the interview. As the 60 Minutes website says, he discusses how "some of Wall Street's finest minds managed to destroy $1.75 trillion of wealth in the subprime mortgage markets."

Click HERE to watch the video interview and then post your reaction on the "Comments" link below.