When it comes to a title, words matter
The multiple choice question would look something like this:
- What is your professional title?
A. Mortgage broker
B. Loan officer
C. Mortgage originator
D. Mortgage expert
E. All of the above
This may seem like a silly question, and for many people, the title doesn't really matter as long as the professional in question has obtained the appropriate license and training and is able to provide the consumer with guidance when it comes to securing a mortgage loan.
But for Jillayne Schlicke, owner of CE Forward, which provides training and continuing education for mortgage and real estate professionals, titles matter because the titles used by loan originators vary, and that can be confusing to a consumer.
“There are no loan officers anymore. Every loan originator in the United States is holding a license and on the license it says 'loan originator.' It does not say 'loan officer.'" Loan originators, Schlicke points out, can work for different types of institutions: a depository bank or a credit union, a non-bank lender, or under a mortgage brokerage. "A consumer does not know the difference between those three. To them, we are all a bunch of money lenders. So it’s important to not make it even more confusing by using the title that attempts to paint you as something better or different.”
There are specific certifications and designations, some better than others. The Certified Mortgage Planner Specialist certification, for example, has been around for almost 15 years, before both the CFPB and the NMLS were created. The course is administered by the CMPS Institute, whose mission is to position originators as trusted advisors with the consumer, and providing originators with financial knowledge and skills beyond their basic license training.
Gibran Nicholas is the founder and CEO of the CMPS Institute, and says that various titles and designations don’t necessarily take away from a CMPS designation but they do muddy the waters, making it difficult for consumers to recognize widely-accepted and acknowledged education and training certifications.
"We’re all for helping consumers. It’s just that when you get into these [post-title] initials, it’s like alphabet soup, and it doesn’t really have much meaning to it. If you go to a two-hour webinar and you’re certified in something, is it really legitimate? No, right?
"We’re a licensed school in the state of Michigan; we’re a licensed real estate school in over 25 states, we’re approved and accredited with the National Association of Certified Public Accountants, and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, and so we go through all these layers of certification and accreditation to make what we do relevant and legitimate and so that’s really the main difference," Nicholas said. "I would say it’s kind of harmful to have all these other non-legitimate designations floating around but at the same time, if the knowledge of these originators are getting is helping the consumer then certainly no harm in that."
Over the past four years, Nicholas said, the CMPS Institute has been growing by roughly 35% a year, and Nicholas attributes this to the rise in technology that's forcing originators to seek out more education and training to really give them a competitive edge.
"Don’t take the CMPS course just to get the initials behind your name. Take it if you think that there’s some relevant value to your business," he said. "The originator of today and the originator of the future really needs to add unique value, human value, that people cannot find through a digital mortgage process, which is really their advice and experience and that’s really where CMPS can help," Nicholas said.
Anyone will tell you that not all originators have the same level of expertise, CMPS certification or not. So even calling oneself a mortgage expert can be problematic, especially someone new to origination.
“You only need three days of education, that makes zero people an expert when they’re brand new," Schlicke said. "I think that’s very dangerous, to lead people, to lead a loan originator who’s brand new to believe they’re an expert. That’s not a good look for our industry.”
But where's the line? Are you an expert after five years? 15 years? Does it make a difference if you're doing nothing but A-paper loans versus working with underserved borrowers and non-prime products? What if you have a background as a processor or underwriter, does that make you more qualified to be an expert?
Schlicke acknowledges that her position may not be a popular one, especially in a climate where originators are seeking ways to differentiate themselves from others. To her, the answer is simply for originators to use their name, the title licensed/registered loan originator, their NMLS number, and any legitimate, widely-recognized designation after that. An originator’s referrals and reviews will speak for themselves, without any creative titling necessary.
“What we really need to recognize is, what matters more than how special you want people to believe you are, what’s more important than that is the consumer," Schlicke said. "Consumers have no idea what all these things mean.”
