I just took a look at the sample questions provided by the National Mortgage Licensing System for the new national loan originator exam and I must say these are so easy why even bother with a test?  Let’s take a look:

If an applicant works 40 hours every week and is paid $13.52 per hour, what is the applicant’s
monthly income?
(A) $2,163.20
(B) $2,343.47
(C) $2,379.52
(D) $2,487.68

The requirement for private mortgage insurance is generally discounted when the loan-to-value ratio falls below:
(A) 20%
(B) 50%
(C) 80%
(D) 90%

Which of the following documents itemizes all settlement costs including lender charges?
(A) Agreement of sale
(B) HUD-1 form
(C) Form 1003
(D) Forbearance agreement

A discount point is BEST described as a charge the borrower pays to:
(A) a lender to decrease the interest rate on the mortgage loan
(B) a mortgage broker at the time of application to obtain a favorable rate
(C) the seller as part of the closing costs of a loan
(D) a lender to ensure against foreclosure

Which of the following methods of disclosure does NOT meet the requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)?
(A) E-mail
(B) Mailed letter
(C) Telephone
(D) Faxed letter

What does a loan originator use to determine the estimated value of a property based on an analytical comparison of similar property sales?
(A) An appraisal
(B) A market survey
(C) An area survey
(D) A cost-benefit analysis

But perhaps I’m being to harsh. We have a vast number of unlicensed loan originators who are working for companies licensed under the Consumer Loan Act. We call these folks “consumer loan lenders,” or “non-depository lenders.”  Rhonda Porter sometimes refers to these folks as “correspondent lenders.”  They differ from a mortgage broker because by definition, a lender is an entity that has the ability to make the loan (fund the loan) and a broker is a middleman who does not make or fund loans, but FINDS the lender for a fee.  Mortgage broker LOs are licensed in WA State but consumer loan company LOs are not.  Yet. 

Consumer loan company LOs can start to take their new national exam beginning July 31, 2009. Their real deadline is July 1, 2010 so it looks like I need to block off May and June 2010 for exam prep classes next year as predict the majority will put it off until the last possible days.

Anyone who has been originating for any length of time need not be afraid if the test questions are going to be this easy.  Once the test launches I will go take it and let you know. 

Perhaps for folks who are brand new to mortgage lending, these test questions might seem a little more challenging. That is the whole purpose of national testing and licensing: To create a minimum barrier to entry.  The regulators at the federal level have put a lot of time and care into the education portion of the new law.  Let’s hope that their chosen test vendor, Pearson Vue (who absorbed Promissor) doesn’t use the same old tired bank of test questions that’s been around for a decade.

Update: Prometric is also a test vendor for the new NMLS exam.  Here’s a link to their website.