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The Library
Plain-English explainers, not sales copy. Start with whichever one matches your actual question.
How to verify your loan officer's NMLS licenseA step-by-step walkthrough of NMLS Consumer Access — free, public, and required to exist by federal law.RESPA Section 8: what it actually prohibitsA flat federal ban on kickbacks for mortgage referrals, with a narrow carve-out for real services at a fair price.The TRID disclosure timeline, explainedThe Loan Estimate within 3 business days of application, the Closing Disclosure at least 3 business days before you sign.What the CFPB complaint database does and doesn't show about your loan officerA genuinely useful tool — but complaints are tracked against the company, not the individual who sold you the loan.Mortgage broker vs. loan officer vs. correspondent lenderWho actually funds your loan, and who's shopping it around, matters more than the job title on the business card.VA loan churning and the IRRRL, explainedA real refinance benefit for veterans, and a real, documented pattern of lenders churning it for fees.The HECM counseling requirement, explainedFederal law requires independent counseling before a reverse mortgage application can even proceed.How to file a complaint against your loan officerThe CFPB and your state regulator are two different, both-useful channels — here's when to use each.Non-QM lending and the ATR/QM rule, explained"Non-QM" doesn't mean unregulated — the federal ability-to-repay requirement still applies.Deceptive mortgage advertising and Regulation NThe federal rule behind "as low as" rate ads and bait-and-switch mortgage marketing.SAFE Act federal registration vs. state licensingTwo originators, two very different compliance bars, depending entirely on who employs them.The Loan Originator Compensation Rule, explainedA federal ban on paying an originator more for steering you into costlier loan terms.State-by-state bonding and net worth requirementsA financial backstop the SAFE Act leaves entirely up to each state — and the dollar amounts vary enormously.What HMDA data can — and can't — tell you about your loan officerSince 2018, an individual NMLS ID is actually in the data — but a raw pattern still isn't proof of anything on its own.Rate locks, float-downs, and extension feesYour lock expiration is federally disclosed. What extending it costs usually isn't.What has to happen when your mortgage servicing gets soldSpecific, timed notices — and a 60-day grace period that protects you if you pay the wrong company.Escrow analysis, shortage, and deficiency rulesA federal rule caps your cushion and limits how fast a shortage can be required back.Force-placed insurance: the notices required firstTwo written notices and 45 days have to pass before a servicer can bill you for it.Table-funded loans: who's actually on the hookThe name on your note as creditor, not who funded it, decides who you'd pursue if something goes wrong.Suspicious Activity Reports and mortgage fraudA 2012 rule extended banks' fraud-reporting duty to non-bank lenders and originators too.MLO continuing education and license renewal8 federally-required hours a year, an annual NMLS deadline, and a license that actually lapses if you miss it.UDAAP: the CFPB's broadest tool against misconductA catch-all federal standard that can reach conduct no specific mortgage statute names by number.Manufactured home chattel loans: a different trackFinancing a manufactured home as personal property can put it outside RESPA entirely.The SAFE Act's felony background-check bar, explainedOne category of felony conviction bars an originator for life. A 7-year lookback covers every other felony.RESPA's affiliated business arrangement disclosure ruleA loan officer who owns a stake in the title company they refer you to isn't automatically breaking the law — three specific conditions decide it.ECOA's adverse action notice requirement, explainedA right to a specific, individualized reason for a denial within 30 days — "internal standards" doesn't satisfy it.HOEPA and the high-cost mortgage triggers, explainedThree separate tests can each independently push a loan into a category that bans balloon payments and prepayment penalties outright.
Canada
Comparative explainers on how Canada's provincial mortgage broker regulators work — not a Canadian Register, and not a vetting of any specific broker, originator, or brokerage. Our published standard and Register remain United States-only.
How Canadian mortgage broker regulation actually worksNo federal NMLS equivalent — each province runs its own licensing regime, through regulators that will look familiar from insurance.How to check a Canadian mortgage broker's licenseEvery province's own free lookup tool, one province at a time — there's no single, Canada-wide search box.Does a Canadian mortgage broker license work in every province?A license in one province can make a second one faster to get — it doesn't make you licensed there automatically.The FCAC's role, and where it stopsA real federal regulator with real authority — over federally regulated banks, not over independent, provincially licensed brokers.Conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements in CanadaSeveral provinces specifically require your broker to disclose their lender relationship, in writing, before you sign.Does a Canadian mortgage broker need E&O insurance?It depends which province — and BC has had no requirement at all, until a 2026 change.Ontario's mortgage broker continuing education requirementA two-year cycle, split into two separately tracked components with different reporting rules.BC's move from the Mortgage Brokers Act to the Mortgage Services ActA decades-old law is being repealed outright on October 13, 2026 — with a transition-education deadline days before that.How Alberta's mortgage licensing tiers workA mortgage associate license first, a mortgage broker license only after two years' experience — plus a mandatory 2025/2026 relicensing course.How Quebec regulates mortgage brokers: the AMF's frameworkOversight moved from a real estate self-regulator to the AMF in 2020 — with an exam, then a supervised probationary period, now being revised.How Ontario licenses mortgage agents and brokers: FSRA's four license classesLevel 1, Level 2, Broker, Brokerage — each one unlocks a wider slice of the lending market, plus a 2019 regulator handoff worth knowing about.How Saskatchewan licenses mortgage brokers: the FCAA's frameworkFour licensed categories under one 2010 statute, through a regulator that's itself less than 15 years old.How Manitoba licenses mortgage brokers: the Securities Commission's two-tier frameworkA mortgage broker and a restricted mortgage broker — and only one of them needs a $100,000 surety bond.How New Brunswick licenses mortgage brokers: the FCNB's four-category frameworkA brokerage's financial security is set case by case — there's no one fixed statutory dollar figure.How Nova Scotia licenses mortgage brokers: five categories under a 2024 lawA 1989 law was fully replaced in 2024 — and the mortgage lender itself is now its own licensed category.How Newfoundland and Labrador licenses mortgage brokers: the 2025 ActA law that stood since 1990 was replaced April 1, 2025 — adding a mandatory E&O insurance requirement the old law never had.Prince Edward Island has no mortgage broker licensing regimeThe one province, of ten, with no dedicated regulator, exam, or public registry — here's what that actually means.How to file a complaint against a Canadian mortgage brokerOntario and Quebec require a written response from the brokerage itself before the regulator opens a file — BC and Alberta don't.The MBRCC's national Code of Conduct, explainedNine of ten provincial regulators formed a voluntary council and endorsed a shared Code of Conduct in 2021 — adoption still varies by province.Mortgage broker advertising rules across Canadian provincesNo federal Regulation N equivalent — Ontario, BC, and Alberta each set their own advertising requirements instead.