Lowell Deeds

Milton State Senator Brian Joyce is advocating that the state require loan officers and mortgage brokers be licensed. Currently, it is the responsibility of the individual mortgage company to check the qualification of loan officers. There is no state test, license or certificate required to be a mortgage officer. Unfortunately, Senator Joyce is a not optimistic about his bill. He introduced to the MA legislature last year and it failed and he believes it will fail again this year…but the bill’s prospects might have improved a little last week. After an extensive investigation, The Boston Globe revealed numerous cases of lending fraud in Lawrence. The Globe found instances of inflated income, identity theft and loan payments higher than stated. This malpractice led to serious troubles for borrowers, some victims were even forced to file for bankruptcy. Of course, the vast majority of mortgage brokers are knowledgeable and honest…but Senator Joyce is right. When I became a real estate “agent”, I was licensed by the state… when I became a real estate “broker” I was required to take classroom instruction and pass a test, then the state licensed me…The point is really brought home with the senator’s own words as quoted in this morning’s Boston Globe…“My God, we license manicurists and hairdressers”.