If you are looking to buy a home right now and are trying to get financing, you may have heard mortgage brokers talk about the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act.  But what is this and how does it affect you?

Basically, SAFE stands for “Secure and Fair Enforcement.”  The act does exactly what it sounds like — helps enforce regulations that make getting a mortgage secure and fair for the consumer.

Some of the noteworthy parts of the act are its provisions to increase transparency — i.e., brokers have to make their employment records and any disciplinary actions against them readily available at the consumer’s request — and standardized licensing requirements.  Brokers have to pass a test in order to be licensed — they can get mortgage exam prep but ultimately  they have to pass the test on their own knowledge.

Ultimately, everything in the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act is there to protect you, the consumer, from brokers who are undereducated, dishonest, or just plain don’t know what they are doing.  The tighter restrictions are supposed to keep these people out of the business, and keep the good brokers in.  But the act only helps you if you know about it and know to, say, ask a broker for employment records.  So know your rights under the act, and be sure to exercise them!

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