We have gotten several calls about the mortgage broker requirements in the State of Georgia lately. The most asked question was whether brokers need to complete their continuing education by March 31, 2009. Some believed they did not, in conflict with my information, which said they did.
I contacted the Georgia Real Estate Commission and it turns out that my understanding is correct: Georgian brokers still need their continuing education hours by March 31 in order to renew their license. But why did so many brokers think they did not need these hours? The confusion lies in a change of the annual continuing education renewal cycle.
Now, instead of a July 1-June 30 period, it will change to a December renewal cycle. As a result, the first year using the new renewal cycle brokers won’t get a full year on their license. For that reason, there will be no continuing education required when the broker has to renew their license in December 2009 for the 2010 license period.
I also found out that any continuing education a broker completes after April 1, 2009 can be applied towards their December 2010-2011 renewal cycle. That’s great news!
As far as SAFE Act requirements for loan originators go, Georgia does not have a time line in place for when the LOs will need to complete the 20 hour prelicense course and pass the state exam. We will keep watching their website and report back anything we discover.