Arizona Mortgage Licensing

Arizona Mortgage Licensing is one of the most corrupt kind of mortgage licensing schemes in the United States. They require a Responsible Individual that must be a resident of Arizona to act as your responsible individual. Since there are not many people that have this kind of license, it usually costs about $1,000 to $1,500 per month to hire someone to be your Responsible Individual. If you have the money to use, this is a great state to originate in.

Certificate of Authority

You are required to register your corporation as a foreign corporation with the state. This is very monotonous because you truly have to file with two different agencies. Any trade names also need to be filed with the Secretary of State.

Surety Bond

Both the Broker and Banker licenses require that you acquire a surety bond. The surety bond is needed to protect consumers and third parties from the mortgage companies non-payment. The surety bond is not an insurance policy so it is required to be paid back if used.

Brick’n’Mortar (Physical Office in the State)

Arizona does require that you have a physical office in the state in order to acquire a mortgage license, however, the responsible individual usually has a physical location in Arizona that may be used as your physical location. This location may be the physical location for an unlimited number of companies.

Responsible Individual

The responsible individual as mentioned above is the biggest scam. I don’t fault the responsible individuals for this, but the state. The responsible individual will usually review some of your files on subject similarities in Arizona just to cover them in case you are audited, however, the limited number of responsible individuals in the state makes it very costly to hire someone because they can charge a lot for their sets

Licensing Application

The license application is fairly extensive and requires personal and company financials. There are numerous pages of information on the owners, officers, and directors of the company that must be completed. Here is a basic overview of the requirements for each kind of mortgage license in Arizona:

Mortgage Banker Licensing

Mortgage Banker License

Physical Office Required: Yes

In-State Officer/ meaningful Person: Yes

Minimum Net Worth: $100,000 to $250,000

Surety Bond: $25,000 to $100,000

State Initial Fee: $879

Loan Officer License: No

Branch License: Yes

Mortgage Broker Licensing

Mortgage Broker License

Physical Office Required: Yes

In-State Officer/ meaningful Person: Yes

Minimum Net Worth: $ None

Surety Bond: $10,000 to $15,000

State Initial Fee: $879

Loan Officer License: No

Branch License: Yes

Regulated by:

Department of Financial Institutions

2910 N. 44th Street, Suite 310

Phoenix, AZ 85018

Telephone: (602) 255-4421

Fax: (602) 381-1225

http://www.azbanking.com/