West Virginia Mortgage Broker, Lender or Loan Originator Bond

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Who is Required To Purchase a West Virginia Mortgage Broker Bond?

The West Virginia Division of Financial Institutions issues three licenses related to mortgage services in the state:

• Individual mortgage originator licenses
• Company mortgage broker licenses
• Company mortgage lender licenses

If you're an individual mortgage originator, you don't need to purchase a surety bond. You will likely work for a mortgage broker company as a registered agent or the qualified individual.

All mortgage business entities are required to purchase a mortgage surety bond with an amount based on the loan volume written or sold from the previous 12 month period.

Here are the bond amounts and loan volume breakdown:

Mortgage Broker Bond Amounts

If you act as a table-funded lender as well then your mortgage bond amount is $150,000.

Mortgage Lender Bond Amounts

Mortgage Servicer Bond Amounts

Keep in mind, these bond amounts are set by the Licensing Department. They are written into West Virginia law.

The bond amount is set as the maximum amount of financial compensation available to a customer from any purposeful financial harm done through a violation of licensing laws or business ethics.

Why is a West Virginia Mortgage Bond Required?

This mortgage license surety bond is the only tool the state has to hold companies they issue a license to accountable too the laws in the state.

You can think of it as a penalty for purposeful fraud.

West Virginia has a licensing process because they want to find the companies and individuals who are most qualified to operate a mortgage business in the state.

And yet, despite the costs associated with getting licensed and setting up a mortgage business, every year there will be a small number of licensed mortgage professionals who will purposefully and financially harm their customers so they can save or make more money.

Examples of these fraudulent actions can include:

• Approving a borrower for a loan they can't afford
• Helping a borrower get approved for a loan by providing false information
• Hindering a borrower from getting approved by providing false information
• Pressing a borrower to enter a high commission loan to make more money
• Creating and charging fabricated fees
• Stealing money from escrow accounts

If a mortgage business harms a customer that customer can submit a claim against the company's surety bond for financial compensation. The maximum level of any one claim or multiple claims is capped by the required bond amount.

The bond amount is also important because it will impact the price you'll pay for your surety bond.

How Much Does a West Virginia Mortgage Surety Bond Cost?

Mortgage surety bonds have bond amounts on the higher end compared to other types of surety bonds. This means your bond will require a custom price based on the following factors:

• The personal credit of the business owner or owners
• Mortgage and all financial lending experience
• Prior bond claims if any owner has been licensed in the past

A surety, the insurance company that underwrites mortgage surety bonds, will use these factors to quote a rate. This rate multiplied by the bond amount is the price you'll pay.

This price will be one payment for your bond term, which in West Virginia is 12 months from the bond's active date. You will choose the active date for your bond when you purchase it.

Prices for mortgage license surety bonds can get expensive, but you can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars by using a surety agency like Surety Bonds Direct.

How Save Save Money Buying Your West Virginia Mortgage Surety Bond

We are Surety Bonds Direct, a specialized surety agency, and we'll help you purchase a mortgage license surety bond by finding you the lowest possible rate.

We work with a network of A-rated sureties to help our clients, and you, find the lowest possible rate.

The thing is each surety uses their own internal assessment guidelines to determine a rate that fits their business goals.

We help businesses every day purchase a surety bond and rates routinely come back one, two , even 3 or more percentage points different. And this can mean huge price savings.

By price shopping for you we consistently find prices hundreds and thousands of dollars lower.

Let's look at some example pricing so you can see how big of a difference these rates have on the price. Let's stay conservative and use the minimum $50,000 bond amount.

Pay close attention to how one to three percentage points difference changes the price you'll pay.

Now imagine having to purchase a $100,000 bond. The savings will be significant.

How Do You Have Us Price Shop For You?

All you have to do is request a price quote and tell us the bond amount you need along with some basic business information.

We'll work with our network of sureties and collect their rates. This process can take a few hours, but when we get the rates back we'll contact you with the lowest one.

And all quotes are guaranteed for 30 days so there is no rush or pressure if you're not ready to purchase.

Go request your price quote today. Remember, this is free information for you. There's no obligation to purchase.

If you prefer to speak with a bond specialist, you can call 1-800-608-9950.

What Do You Do After You Purchase Your Mortgage Surety Bond?

When you get pricing and when you're ready to purchase, all you have to do is complete an online order form or order over the phone.

There are two important things to make sure of when you purchase:

• One, make sure the business name you use is the exact name that's on file with the Secretary of State (typically this will include all DBAs as well)
• Two, choose a start date when your bond becomes active

Most of the time the start date should align with the date you'll submit your full application through the NMLS.

After your payment is complete, our bond issuance team will get to work preparing your bond with the:

• Correct bond form (this is critical)
• Required signatures and seals
• Power of attorney to make it legal

Mortgage bonds are e-filed with the National Multi-State Licensing Agency (NMLS) and we'll help make sure you bond gets e-filed correctly.

How Do You Keep Your West Virginia Mortgage Broker Bond Active?

As long as you're in business, you have to have an active mortgage surety bond on file that will cover your level of mortgage activity.

Remember, we said when you purchase your bond, it's one payment for a bond term, or 12 months.

As your 12 month term approaches the end, you'll have to renew your bond for the following year. During this renewal process is when you can manage your bond amount and increase or decrease it as necessary.

Renewing your bond is easy.

As a Surety Bonds Direct customer, you're assigned your own bond specialist to manage your bond for you.

As your renewal date approaches, your bond specialist will contact you to remind you of the expiration date and help you adjust your bond if needed.

Can You Get Your Mortgage License In Other States?

It's very common for mortgage businesses to get licensed in neighboring states. We regularly help mortgage professions in West Virginia also get their mortgage license bond in:

• Pennsylvania mortgage broker bond
• Ohio mortgage broker bond
• Virginia mortgage broker bond
• Kentucky mortgage broker bond

Mortgage Bonds And Getting Your West Virginia Business License/Registration

Here are the high level steps so you know what to expect.

Use the NMLS Checklist Compiler to help with the details of each step.

Submit Your Financial Statements

You must submit a financial statements, including:

• Balance sheet
• Income statement
• Statement of cash flow

Your financial statements should be audited by a CPA. An unaudited packet of financial statements will be accepted if approved by a regulator.

In West Virginia there is a minimum net-worth requirement of $10,000 for licensure.

You must also provide annual audited statements.

Criminal Background Checks

A criminal background check of all officers and owners of the business is required.

Credit Check

A credit report must be completed for all owners (10% or more) and the same qualifying individual and control persons. This is to show financial stability.

Business Formation Documents

You will have to provide your business formation filings

This includes making sure all trade names or "doing business as" names are registered and outlined here as well. You will need to provide a written statement for each trade name as to the reason why it exists and how you'll use it.

You must also provide your certificate of good standing or certificate of authorization if you're getting licensed as an out of state company.

List Key Individuals

Every business needs at least one licensed mortgage originator. This person is often referred to as the qualified individual.

You must appoint a registered agent. This is the individual who typically is responsible for managing the day to day at the office location.

Finally, you must list the key contact individuals, including those in charge of examinations and business compliance.

Go request your price quote today. Remember, this is free information for you. There's no obligation to purchase. Quotes are good for 30 days.

If you prefer to speak with a bond specialist, you can call 1-800-608-9950.