Watch out for this if you operate in multiple states

Compliance across state lines can get a bit tricky

By David Lykken
Special to MPA

Keeping in compliance is something that's constantly on our minds as mortgage professionals. With the continuously changing legislation, we always seem to be on our guard. We never know when the auditors might decide to pay us a visit. So, how do we react when they do decide to drop in...
 
Many lenders may feel as if they can let their guards down a little after being audited. Nothing crazy, but they might assume that can relax a little and not be so diligent about the details. Well, if your organization operates in multiple states, you may want to rethink this tendency.
 
In a recent discussion on my radio show, I discovered a common trend among auditors. If one of your organization's branches is audited and you have other branches in a different state, there's a good chance that those branches will be next. In the world of auditing, serial examinations are becoming more and more common. When a branch in one state is audited, there tends to be a waterfall effect and branches in other states are subsequently audited as well. So, if that describes you, you may not want to get too comfortable.
 
David Lykken is 40-year industry veteran who has been an owner operator of three mortgage banking companies and a software company. As co-founder and Managing Partner of Mortgage Banking Solutions, David consults on virtually all aspects of mortgage banking with special emphasis executive leadership development, corporate strategic direction and implementation as well as mergers & acquisitions. A regular contributor on CNBC and Fox Business News, David also hosts a successful weekly radio program called “Lykken On Lending” (www.LykkenOnLending.com) that is heard each Monday at noon (Central Standard Time) by thousands of mortgage professionals. Recently he started producing a 1-minute video called “Today’s Mortgage Minute” that appears on hundreds of television, radio and newspaper websites daily across America.