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Best 8-hour SAFE CE Renewal Courses for NMLS MLO in 2023

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Real Estate Like a Boss Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again.

As part of the SAFE Act, MLOs are required to complete continuing education every year to ensure that they stay current with the latest changes in the industry and to better serve their clients. Fortunately, the course load isn’t too heavy, with most people often being able to finish it in one day.

Here’s a quick recap on the general information you need to know for renewing your MLO license:

Who needs to complete CE?

Everyone who is a licensed MLO will need to complete CE. The only exception is for new MLOs who received their license in 2023 and completed all their pre-licensing education (PE) courses in 2023, they do not need to do any CE for this year. So, if you received your license in 2023 but completed your PE before 2023, then you will still need to do CE.

What courses do I have to take?

While the NMLS requires everyone to take a minimum of 8 hours of approved CE, your state may require you to take additional hours on top of this.

You can review the table below to see if your state requires any additional state hours.

When is it due?

The deadline to complete CE is December 31, but that doesn’t mean you can wait until the last day to get the courses done.

The reason is that every step takes time to process. When you complete your courses, your school will submit your CE certificates to the NMLS on your behalf. However, most schools don’t send them right away. They will send your certificate along with a group of other students in batch and do this only a few times every week. Not to mention once the NMLS receives the certificates, they will need some time to update your account.

To help things go more smoothly, the NMLS likes to provide the following dates for additional guidance to help make sure people renew on time:

SMART CE DEADLINE:  CE course(s) reported to NMLS by Friday, December 8
At RISK TO MISS RENEWAL:  CE course(s) reported to NMLS by Friday, December 15
GUARANTEED TO MISS RENEWAL:  CE course(s) reported to NMLS on Friday, December 29

In other words, if you want to play it safe and make sure everything gets done on time, then you really want to finish your CE courses by December 1^st, since it could take as long as a week for your school to turn in your certificates. This would fall in line with the Smart Deadline of having your certificates submitted to the NMLS by December 8^th.

What happens if I don't renew on time?

Most states have a “grace” period, where you can still make up the continuing education requirements to reinstate your license. The reinstatement submission deadline is February 28th for most states. For Arizona, Kentucky, North Dakota, and South Carolina, the deadline is on January 31. The states that don’t have a reinstatement period are Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.

To reinstate your license, you typically have to take a late version of the CE, which doesn’t get released until after the first of the year. Also, you may incur a penalty fee for being late that varies by state, which can be as high as $400.

If you miss this reinstatement period or if your state doesn’t offer one to begin with, then your license will be terminated, and you will have to apply for a new license.

Which schools have the best CE courses?

Perhaps, the biggest challenge when renewing your MLO license will be finding the best school with the best SAFE CE renewal courses. While every mortgage school provides the same mandatory topics required by the NMLS, they don’t all offer the same elective courses, course format, or have the same level of difficulty.

After reviewing dozens of mortgage schools across the country, we have boiled it down to the three best mortgage schools that offer the most compelling CE courses to renew your MLO license.

1. Mortgage-Education.com

Best School for Learning Interactively

Mortgage-Education.com is the premier provider of mortgage courses across the country. Unlike other schools that offer courses in other fields such as real estate, home inspection, etc…, Mortgage-Education.com focuses 100% of their attention on mortgage courses only, so you know you are getting the highest quality courses from the most knowledgeable experts in the industry.

While they offer the standard online course format, they also have a webinar option, which is great for learning interactively. You take the course live through a Zoom video meeting. There are sessions held all throughout the week, and you can just choose any session you want as you go. If you prefer face-to-face interaction when learning, this is the way to go.

PRICE: 8 hour package – $119 to $129

2. The CE Shop

Best School for Knowledge Seekers

The CE Shop was originally founded in 2005 to help real estate agents with their CE. Since then, they have grown to become one of the biggest online real estate schools in the country, offering a full suite of courses in both the real estate and mortgage industries.

The CE Shop built their own custom platform online from the ground up to provide the best learning environment to master the material. They make the course rigorous, constantly inundating you with quiz questions. There are no shortcuts with this program. If you want to do more than just fulfill your CE requirements and learn as much as possible, this will be the perfect option for you.

PRICE: 8 hour package – $155

3. Learn Mortgage

Best School for Busy People

Learn Mortgage is also one of the few providers that specializes in offering mortgage-specific courses in all 50 states. If you are licensed in multiple states, they make it extremely easy to pick the ones you need to create your own custom bundle.

Learn Mortgage focuses on simplicity and making the entire process as painless as possible. The courses are in an online format, where you are reading an online book and answering quizzes at the end of each section. This allows you to knock it out in a day if you are in a rush or finish the course over several days if you have a busy schedule.

PRICE: 8 hour package – $129

Top 3 Online MLO NMLS Courses in Georgia in 2023

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Real Estate Like a Boss

If you have been considering becoming a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) in the state of Georgia, you are in luck! Georgia doesn’t require any state-specific courses like so many other states do, so you just need to complete the 20 hours of Federal courses and pass the National Exam to get licensed in Georgia.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean things will be easy. In fact, the overall pass rate on the National Exam for first-time test takers is just 55%. If you don’t pass the exam, you can take it again. However, you have to wait 30 days before they let you attempt it again and the fee to take the test is $110. It would be wise to study a little extra harder and get things done right the first time around.

We have taken a look at the dozens of mortgage programs available for Georgia and handpicked the best ones for you. They are all approved by the NMLS and will help you increase your chances of passing on you first try.

1. MortgageEducation.com

Best School Overall

MortgageEducation.com has become one of the dominant players when it comes to helping people obtain a mortgage license. One of the major reasons for that is because mortgage education is all they do. A lot of other schools offer other programs in different fields, such as real estate, appraisal, home inspection, so they don’t provide the same level of attention to detail to their mortgage courses like MortgageEducation.com does.

What this translates to is that you get the highest quality of mortgage courses in the industry. For example, MortgageEducation.com is one of the handful of schools that offer their pre-licensing course in full video. You get to see the face of the instructor as they teach the class, which makes learning a lot more engaging than just reading words on a screen. This environment gives you the maximum interactive learning experience and helps keep you motivated. Not to mention that their instructors are experts in the mortgage industry and can answer your questions on the spot.

One of the more unique things that differentiate MortgageEducation.com from other schools is their extremely flexible class schedule. Most schools have a scheduled start day that you have to wait for until you can take the course. With MortgageEducation.com, you can start the course whenever you are ready. You are given the freedom to truly move at your own pace and can take up to 14 days to finish the course.

Being the mortgage experts, MortgageEducation.com has also developed comprehensive exam prep to study for the National Exam. They have a separate video course dedicated solely to helping you pass the exam. They walk you through what to expect, tips on how to study, and incorporate interactive activities to help you retain the information better. After you go through the videos, there are over 1,500 practice exam questions that you can take online to get you ready for the text. If you miss a question, there is an explanation that goes over the correct answer.

Best School for Text-based Courses

Learn Mortgage is a subsidiary of Colibri Real Estate. It that doesn’t ring a bell, you may have heard of Gold Coast Schools, Superior School of Real Estate or Real Estate Express. They are all part of the Colibri family of real estate schools and the largest provider of real estate courses in the country with over 1 million students from Learn Mortgage alone!

Learn Mortgage takes a more conventional approach to online learning. The pre-licensing course is mainly just reading text and answering test questions at the end of each chapter. You can study any time during the day, but the courses do have a fixed schedule. You can finish it in 7 days with start days available every Tuesdays and Thursdays, or if you need more time, you can finish in 14 days with new classes starting every Wednesdays and Fridays.

With this fixed schedule format, the course does not just start and end on specific dates. There is also a schedule of deadlines throughout the course that you have to keep pace with. For example, on the 7-day track, you will have to complete the first four chapters on Day 1, the next three chapters by the end of Day 2, and so on. If you miss the deadline, you will have to start the entire course over again and potentially pay a re-enrollment fee.

For exam prep on the National Exam, Learn Mortgage offers their propriety practice test engine called CompuCram. This is meant to be an all-in-one solution that combines vocabulary tools, online practice questions, and mock exams to help you pass the exam. The nice feature about this tool is there is a Readiness Indicator that tells you whether you have studied enough to take the test, so you don’t have to make that guess yourself.

Best School for Knowledge Seekers

Contrary to its name, The CE Shop does a lot more than just offer Continuing Education (CE). In fact, they are one of the biggest real estate schools in the nation. They have only recently entered the mortgage industry, incorporating the best practices and lessons they’ve learned from their real estate courses and applying that to their mortgage courses. Their real estate courses boast a national pass rate of 90%, so they must be doing something right.

The way they have been able to be so successful starts with their learning platform called LEAP 2.0. This is a 100% online platform that they built from the ground up. There are slides that you go through one-by-one, which contain a balanced mix of online reading, interactive exercises, and video content. The CE Shop is mobile friendly, allowing you to seamlessly switch between your smartphone and laptop.

The way their 20-hour pre-licensing course is setup is you can start whenever you want and you have up to 13 days to finish the course. You can move quicker and finish earlier than the 13 days allotted, but the course will not release the certificate until Day 13. If you are looking to get this done quickly, then this won’t be the best option.

What makes The CE Shop program special is not how easy they make the course, it’s special because of how hard it is. The students are quizzed constantly and from every direction, helping them retain the course material better. At its heart, The CE Shop is a data-driven and analytical organization. They monitor the progress of their students, evaluate what works, and makes any necessary adjustments to the courses to help their students perform better. If you don’t just want to get licensed, but also want to learn as much as possible, this is the perfect fit for you.

Top 3 Online MLO NMLS Courses in Arizona in 2023

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Real Estate Like a Boss

Helping people achieve their lifelong dream of owning a home can be one of the most fulfilling careers you can have. As a Mortgage Loan Officer (MLO), you help families realize this dream by finding the right loans to fit their budget. For most people, this will be the biggest financial decision of their lives.

As a result, the state has requires MLOs to receive proper education and testing to become a licensed loan originator. For the state of Arizona, you will need to complete a minimum of 20-hours of Pre-licensing Education (PE), a 4-hour Arizona State Law course, and pass the National Exam.

It is incredibly important to find a good school to satisfy these education requirements. As of September 2022, the National Exam pass rate for first time takers was only 55%. If you don’t pass, you have to pay the $110 exam fee and wait another 30 days to re-test. It’s a good idea to do things right the first time, even if that means having to study a little harder.

We have gone through the entire list of approved mortgage schools and selected the ones we think will give you the best chance of success to start your new career in the mortgage industry.

1. Mortgage-Education.com

Best School Overall

MortgageEducation.com is the premier place to get all of your mortgage courses done. They are one of the handful of schools that have nationwide coverage, so if you ever want to get licensed in multiple states, you will be able to get everything done in one school. Their program is best-in-class in virtually every category for a mortgage school.

One of the big qualities that set MortgageEducation.com apart from other schools is that they now offer the 20-hour pre-licensing course in full video. You get to watch an instructor teach the class from your computer, keeping you engaged as if you were sitting in an actual classroom. There are live instructors for support available to help you with questions along the way as well.

Another unique aspect of their program that students will greatly appreciate is their flexible scheduling options. Most schools have specific start dates and fixed deadlines that you have to meet by a certain day. MortgageEducation.com has the most flexible program where you can actually start any time you want and work on it whenever you want. This means if you are in a rush to get licensed, you can finish the 20-hours in as little as 3 days. Or, if things change and you just want to take your time, you can spend the full 14 days allowed by the NMLS to finish the course.

MortgageEducation.com doesn’t just have the best pre-licensing course. They also have the best exam prep to help you pass the National Exam. While most other schools only offer practice exams, MortgageEducation.com has a full video course in addition to their practice exams that cover what you need to know on the exam, how to study, and other test taking tips. They incorporate interactive exercises and memory games to keep you on your toes. If you feel like you need some extra help, they even have office hours where you can meet with instructors face-to-face through a video chat.

2. Learn Mortgage

Best School for Online Reading

Learn Mortgage is a subsidiary of Colibri Real Estate, which is the largest online real estate school in the country. If you have heard of Arizona School of Real Estate and Business (ASREB), Hogan Real Estate, or Hondros Education, they are all part of the same family. Learn Mortgage is the school that handles all of the mortgage courses and has helped over 300,000 students across the country get licensed.

Learn Mortgage offers the pre-licensing course in an online format, where you are reading the course material online and answer test questions at the end of each module. You can choose to finish the 20-hour course over 7 days or 12 days. Under this online format, you are free to read the course material at any time. However, there is a day-schedule that you have to follow. For example, on the 7-day track, you have to complete the first four modules by Day 1, the next three modules must be completed by Day 2, and so on. If you don’t complete the modules in time, you will have to start the course over.

One nice benefit with the online program at Learn Mortgage is that their 20-hour pre-licensing bundle includes the 4-hour Arizona State Law course. Other schools may only offer the national pre-licensing package as 20 hours and make you take the 4-hour Arizona State Law as an additional course, requiring you to do more work and complete a total of 24 hours.

For studying for the National Exam, Learn Mortgage only offers one option with their packages to help you study called CompuCram. However, it is a powerful tool. You can take a pre-assessment test to evaluate what you already know and optimize your time by focusing on key areas. There are simulated practice exams that mirror the real exam and a Readiness Indicator that tracks your progress to let you know when you are ready to take the actual exam. When you get the green light, that means you are good to go.

3. The CE Shop

Best School for Knowledge Seekers

The CE Shop has been widely recognized as a leader in the real estate education industry for a long time. They have been growing very rapidly, acquiring companies and expanding their product line to include mortgage courses. They like to run a tight ship by sticking to a 100% online-only program. This allows them to leverage technology and quickly adapt to today’s ever-changing learning landscape.

The 20-hour pre-licensing course is in your traditional online course format. There are slides that you go through one by one to get to the next section. Their content has a balanced mix of reading, videos, and other visual graphics that help reinforce the concepts discussed in the course and keep things interesting. You can start the course at any time and work on it at your own pace for up to 13 days. However, no matter how fast or slow you go, the certificate doesn’t get released until Day 13. If you are in a rush to get licensed, this won’t be for you.

What makes The CE Shop different from other schools is how they want you to be an expert on the subject matter. They achieve this with their inquiry-based model by constantly quizzing you with questions in a variety of ways. This approach forces you to really understand the material as opposed to simply making a guess to get to the next question. If you are up for a challenge and have a love for learning, this will be a great program for you.

Best Mortgage Schools for a MLO NMLS License for 2023

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Real Estate Like a Boss

One of the most satisfying careers you can have is when you get to help people realize their lifelong dream of owning a home. As a licensed Mortgage Loan Officer (MLO), you do that by helping people secure a mortgage loan so that they can afford to buy their dream house. This is arguably the most critical step of the home-buying process, since you are dealing with other people’s money.

Education Requirements

As you can imagine, the government wants to make sure that anyone new coming into the mortgage industry has a basic level of training and education. Although each state governs their own loan officers, there is a national minimum standard set forth by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) that everyone has to follow. They require that you complete a minimum of 20 hours of approved Pre-Licensure Education (PE) and pass the National Exam with Uniform State Test (UST).

Many states have additional course requirements on top of this. However, depending on your state, you may be able to use these hours to count towards the minimum 20 hour national requirement. You can check to see if your state has additional PE requirements below. If they are not listed, then your state does not have additional state PE and you just need to complete the 20 hour national minimum.

Finding a School

Now that we’ve established what courses you need to take, the next question is where to take them. At the time of this writing, there are currently 92 education providers that are approved by the NMLS to provide courses, and each school has their own strengths and weaknesses. In fact, there are many schools that don’t even provide any Pre-Licensing Education courses at all and only offer Continuing Education (CE) courses, which are courses you will take in the future to renew your license after you become a loan officer.

It can be a daunting task to go down the entire list of schools and know exactly what to look for. We can simplify our search for the best mortgage school by breaking it down and looking at the similarities and differences.

Things Every School Does

If you’ve ever taken an online course before, you generally know how they work. However, the NMLS tightly regulates how these courses must be conducted by every school. Therefore, if there is something you don’t like about a school, it may not be the school that wants to do it, it may just be a NMLS requirement.

For example, the NMLS requires a Credit Banking fee of $1.50 per hour for each student, which adds up to an extra cost of $30 for a 20 hour Pre-Licensing course. Credit Banking is a process where an NMLS Approved Course Provider records a candidate’s or licensee’s SAFE-required education hours into the NMLS. You can think of it as an administrative or processing fee. Every school is going to charge you this, but some schools may hide it in the cost of tuition while others may try to sneakily tack it on at the end.

Some other things that the NMLS requires of an approved school is that they track your online activity to make sure you are engaged and paying attention. The NMLS does not want people to take a year to finish this course and schools are required to have an instructor “lead” a limited number of students. This doesn’t necessarily mean the instructor is actually teaching the class, but at a minimum, asks for student participation via online chat or a discussion forum.

Things That Schools Do Differently

So, with all the annoying conditions that every mortgage school has to abide by, what actually separates one school from another?

One of the biggest differences deals with your own personal preference on how you like to study. There are three possible course formats to take the Pre-Licensing Education course. You can read the book online, watch videos online, or sit in an in person classroom. Most schools only offer one type of format. However, there are a few bigger schools that offer all three.

Another major difference is the quality of the course. Each school creates and develops their own content written by their own staff of instructors. If you think back to all the teachers you’ve ever had in your life, you know each teacher had their own style of teaching. There are ones who are charismatic and fun, and there are teachers who are strict and speak in a monotone voice. It’s the same with mortgage schools. Each school has their own personality and approach to learning.

The last thing you will want to review is the price. It’s more important to get the best education possible because the difference in cost between schools is minimal when compared to the bigger picture. For example, the National Exam pass rate is only 56% for people taking it for the first time, and you have to pay the testing center $110 just to take the exam. It’s a good idea to do things right the first time around and get a high quality education, so that you can increase your probability of passing on the first try.

Best Mortgage Schools

A big part of your success and whether you will have a smooth start to your new career will depend on what school you choose to go with. We have gone through the entire list of NMLS-approved mortgage schools and handpicked the ones we think offer the best programs in the industry.

1. Mortgage-Education.com

Best School for Video Course Format

MortgageEducation.com is arguably the biggest online mortgage school in the nation. They are one of the few schools with courses in all 50 states. Since a lot of loan originators prefer to be licensed in multiple states, this comes in handy because you can get all your courses done at one place.

They have just launched a new pre-license program that is interactive and engaging. Their 20-hour pre-license course is in full video now, and there are live instructors to help you along the way. The best part is that you have the flexibility to start any time and finish any time (up to 14 days). This means if you are in a rush to get licensed, you can start right now and complete the course in 3 days. Or, if you already have a full-time job or busy schedule, you can work on it on nights and weekends as needed.

MortgageEducation.com also just came out with brand new exam prep to help you study for the National Exam. While other schools only offer multiple-choice practice tests to help you prepare, MortgageEducation.com now offers an optional video course designed specifically for the National Exam. This video course is pre-recorded, so you can watch it any time. It covers what to expect on the exam, how you should be studying for the exam, and smart test taking tips.

2. Learn Mortgage

Best School for Online Reading Format

Learn Mortgage is also a very large NMLS-approved mortgage school with a proven track record of success. If you have not heard of them, you may recognize them under the Allied Schools or Hondros College brand names. They are all one in the same.

Learn Mortgage offers your traditional online learning format. You can choose to complete the course over 7 days or 14 days, and you read the material online just like a book. A physical hardcopy book is also available for purchase. The main advantage of this format is you can study at your own pace and at any time you want during the day. However, there will be online multiple-choice tests that you will have to complete on specific days. If you love to read books, then this will be a great fit for you.

Learn Mortgage also has a very robust exam prep for preparing for the National Exam called CompuCram. This is a proprietary tool that is full of interactive study tools, dynamic practice tests and simulated exams that mimic the actual exam you take. There is a “readiness indicator” that tells you when you have studied enough and are adequately prepared to attempt the exam.

3. The CE Shop

Best School for Knowledge Seekers

The CE Shop, based in Colorado, has been offering real estate courses for a long time along with a successful track record to back it up. They recently launched a full suite of mortgage courses across the nation using their tried-and-true methodology.

The CE Shop developed their own propriety learning platform called LEAP 2.0. This is a 100% online course where you read through an eTextbook online and answer multiple choice questions at the end of each section. They incorporate a balanced mix of textual information, videos, and other visual graphics that help reinforce the concepts discussed in the course.

What makes The CE Shop program different from other schools is how challenging they make their courses. Their goal is to make sure you know the material inside and out. They do this by constantly testing your knowledge on the information you just studied using a variety of different quiz formats. This is a great program for people who are more interested in learning as mush as possible rather than getting licensed as quickly as possible.

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MLO School Reviews

Top 3 Online MLO NMLS Schools in Washington State

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Real Estate Like a Boss

If you have been looking to work in the real estate industry, a career as a loan officer is arguably the best way to do it. You don’t have to pound the pavement like a real estate agent but still have the opportunity to make a comparable income.

The first step is to obtain a Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) license. The state of Washington requires that a person complete 22 total hours of Pre-license Education (PE) and pass the National Exam. The 22 total hours are broken up into 18 hours of national content and 4 hours of Washington state-specific content.

What All Mortgage Schools Share In Common

There are a lot of mortgage schools available to satisfy your PE courses. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. NMLS courses are not fun. They are not like other online courses you may have taken in the past. The reason is that mortgage schools must adhere to strict guidelines set by the NMLS to make sure that students are genuinely learning the material and minimize any academic dishonesty going on (aka cheating). So, if you find yourself with the urge of wanting to pull your hair out of frustration during the course, there’s a good chance that it was because the NMLS required it to be that way.

Here are some examples of how tightly the NMLS regulates these courses:

Cumbersome Password System
If you are taking an online Continuing Education course to renew your license, the NMLS requires you to authenticate your identity through a password verification system called BioSig-ID, where you use your mouse to draw your password rather than just typing it in. You have to do this every time you login, before you take the final exam, and at various points while you are working on the course.

Instructor-Led
With the initial Prelicensing Education (PE) courses, the NMLS doesn’t allow people to just sign up for the courses and study completely independently on their own. They require that you be placed in a cohort, or a group, of students with a dedicated instructor. The instructor doesn’t necessarily have to teach the class, but is there to track your progress and help you along the way. If you choose an online format, this typically comes in the form of messaging or chat. You are not required to actually see them or talk to them over the phone, but you will have to respond to their questions if they ask.

Mandatory Active Participation
The NMLS wants to make sure you are attentive and present throughout the entire course. You don’t have to worry about that in a classroom environment or with live webinars because the instructor can see you. However, it’s a different story with an online course, where you are essentially reading an online book. As a result, the NMLS requires that you log a minimum amount of hours online, and education providers are required to automatically log you out if there has been no activity for over 6 minutes.

What Makes One School Better Than The Rest

Although every mortgage school has to make their courses comply with these NMLS regulations, that doesn’t mean all schools are the same. There are definitely ones that are far better than others. Here are the biggest differentiators.

Instructors
Every school develops their own material and employs their own staff of instructors. If you recall back to when you were a child going to school, you probably remember that whether a class was fun (or excruciatingly boring) largely depended on the teacher. Did the teacher talk in a monotone voice? Or was the teacher animated and charismatic? The same applies here.

Price
The cost of mortgage courses will vary by school as they can set whatever prices they want. Generally, the PE courses with exam prep run around $300 to $400 on average. Like with anything, schools with better programs tend to charge more for their courses.

Course Schedule
The NMLS requires that PE courses start and end on specific dates. Every mortgage school has their own schedule of when they offer their courses. There are some programs that allow you to finish in as little as 2 days while other courses can take as long as 14 days. Regardless of the course duration, you are still covering the same amount of material.

After reviewing all of the mortgage schools in the state of Washington, these are our top schools that are going to help you successfully launch a new career as a Mortgage Loan Originator.

1. Mortgage-Education.com

Best School for Learning Interactively

MortgageEducation.com is the leading provider for helping people obtain the mortgage license. They have programs in all 50 states which is useful since many people are licensed in multiple states. This allows you to get all your courses under one roof.

They recently upgraded their entire program to make it more engaging by incorporating video content throughout the course. You get access to live instructors, so you can ask your questions to a live human being and you won’t feel like you are studying alone. If you have a hard time concentrating in class or are worried that online courses are too boring, this will be the best program for you.

One of the unique things about MortgageEducation.com is their course scheduling. While most other schools require that you finish on a certain day, MortgageEducation.com allows you to finish by a certain day. They give you up to 14 days to finish whenever you want. That means if you are in a rush, you can start today and finish in as little as 3 days. However, as you are taking the course, if you feel you need more time, that is okay too.

Another big differentiator is their exam prep for the National Exam. Most other schools only offer practice tests to help you study. MortgageEducation.com offers an entire video course designed specifically for the exam. When used in combination with their practice tests and study guides, you will have plenty of study tools to help you succeed.

2. Learn Mortgage

Best School for Online Reading Format

Learn Mortgage is a leading mortgage education company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. They are a subsidiary of the Hondros Education Group, which has a large presence in real estate, appraisal, and home inspection nationwide.

The courses at Learn Mortgage follow your traditional online text format, where you are basically reading an online book. You can download the material and print it out, but you will still complete assignments through your online account. You are given a choice of completing the pre-licensing course over 7 days or 14 days. There will be assignments that need to be completed on certain days, so you have to follow the course schedule. Learn Mortgage really puts an emphasis on mastering the material, so if you want a rigorous program and study hard, then this will be a great option for you.

When you complete the 22-hour pre-license course, they also have separate exam prep available to help you study for the National Exam called CompuCram. This is a 100% proprietary test prep kit. You get access to vocabulary tools along with unlimited multiple-choice practice test questions. When you are fully prepared, the “Readiness” indicator will let you know, so that you will be able to pass the exam with ease.

3. The CE Shop

Best School for Knowledge Seekers

If you are the type of person who seeks a challenge and likes to push yourself to the limits, then The CE Shop would be perfect solution to fit your style. With over 17 years in the industry and thousands of students successfully licensed under their program, The CE Shop has developed their own proven formula to help people pass the exams with a high success rate.

They have achieved this by developing their own learning platform called LEAP 2.0 from the ground up. The CE Shop courses look sleek, modern, and are seamlessly compatible with mobile devices. While the majority of the time, you will be reading from a textbook online, they mix things up to keep you engaged by throwing in video clips, lots of visual graphics, and a variety of different quiz formats.

What makes this program different from the rest is they want you to truly master the material. This means you will be quizzed more often throughout the course to test your knowledge of what you studied. If you are in a rush to get licensed, this is not recommended for you. However, if your main priority is to learn as much as possible, then this will help you get there.

MLO School Reviews

Top 3 Online MLO NMLS Course Providers in Texas in 2023

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Real Estate Like a Boss One comment

One of the most fulfilling careers you can have is one where you get to help people buy their dream home. As a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO), you help families get the appropriate financing they need for their unique situation. Since this is arguably the biggest financial decision for most families, the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) has established laws and education requirements to ensure public safety.

The education requirements that have been put in place are designed for someone with absolutely no experience to be able to have a general understanding of the mortgage industry. You just need to complete 23 hours of NMLS-approved Pre-Licensing Education (PE) courses and pass the National Exam.

There are many schools available to help you satisfy these education requirements, so it can be a frustrating process to determine what makes one school better than another. In fact, there are many things that every school does the same in order to comply with NMLS regulations. Here are few examples that all schools have to follow:

Course Requirements by the NMLS

NMLS courses are always “instructor-led.” This means that you will be put in with a group of 10 to 15 other students with a dedicated instructor assigned to you. This could be a live human being teaching the course, or depending on which school you go with, this could be virtual, meaning they will interact with you via messaging or discussion forum. You will not necessarily have to show up at a specific time.
The course will have a specific start and end date. Other online programs usually give you the freedom to study whenever you want. However, the NMLS is very particular about the structure of this course. They want to make sure you are actively participating the whole time and keeping pace.
There are no shortcuts. In the past, many people were caught trying to cheat through the courses or even go to the extremes of having someone else take it for them. Every NMLS provider must adhere to their regulations to prevent that from happening, such as making students sign in through a biometric password system called BioSig, automatically logging you out if you are idle for too long, and signing an agreement that you agree to abide by NMLS rules.

What school you choose to go with to meet the education requirements will play a crucial role in setting you up for success. For example, people who take the National Exam only pass 56% of the time on their first attempt on average. If you don’t pass, there is a 30-day waiting period before you are allowed to try again and you will also have to pay the $110 exam fee again.

We have gone through the entire list of schools one by one and handpicked the ones that will give you the best chance for becoming a successful MLO in Texas. These schools are all NMLS-approved, have the highest quality content, and will fit a variety of different learning styles.

1. Mortgage-Education.com

Best School for Learning Interactively

MortgageEducation.com is leading the nation in online mortgage education and has high marks in pretty much every category. They are one of the few education providers with programs in all 50 states. So, if you are thinking about getting licensed in multiple states, then you can get all of your courses completed in one place.

MortgageEducation.com recently revamped their program and now offers their pre-license course in full video. There are also live instructors to help you along the way. The best part is that you have the flexibility to start any time and finish any time (up to 14 days). This means if you are in a rush to get licensed, you can start right now and complete the course in 3 days. Or, if you already have a full-time job or busy schedule, you can work on it on nights and weekends as needed.

They also just came out with brand new exam prep to help you study for the National Exam. While other schools only offer multiple-choice practice tests to help you prepare, MortgageEducation.com now offers an optional video course designed specifically for the National Exam. This video course is pre-recorded, so you can watch it any time. It covers what to expect on the exam, how you should be studying for the exam, and smart test taking tips.

2. Learn Mortgage (Hondros)

Best School for Text-based Courses

Learn Mortgage, who is a subsidiary of the Hondros Education Group, is also a very big mortgage school with courses in all 50 states. They specialize in more of the traditional online learning methods.

You can choose to complete the 23 hours of Pre-Licensing Education over 7 days or 14 days. Taking the actual course is just like reading an online book. At the end of each section, there will be a multiple-choice test. The advantage with this format is you can study at any time throughout the day. However, it does run on a schedule where you have to complete a given chapter by a certain day. If you generally love to read books, this will be a great fit for your learning style.

When you complete the 23-hours of coursework, Learn Mortgage has additional exam prep, called CompuCram, to help you study for the National Exam. This introduces a ton of vocabulary tools and practice tests that are designed to simulate the actual exam. There is a “Readiness Indicator” that analyzes your results and will let you know when it thinks you are fully prepared to tackle the exam.

3. The CE Shop

Best School for Knowledge Seekers

If you are someone who not only wants to get licensed but also learn as much as possible, The CE Shop is the perfect program for you. Based in Colorado, The CE Shop has become a powerhouse in the real estate education industry over the past decade, helping students from all over the country successfully obtain their license.

Although this program has been developed so that anyone can complete the course, they do challenge you more than other schools. This means you will be quizzed more often throughout the course to test your knowledge of what you studied. In the end, this helps you master the material more thoroughly but may require you to spend more time to finish.

MLO School Reviews

Top 3 Online MLO NMLS Course Providers in Florida in 2023

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Real Estate Like a Boss Leave a comment

If you are interested in becoming one of the approximately 37,000 loan originators in Florida, you are getting in at a good time. Florida is experiencing among the strongest growth for loan origination compared to the rest of the country.

While you don’t need any previous real estate experience, you do need to obtain a license. This is a fairly simple process. You just need to complete the 20-hour course and pass the National Exam.

When searching for a school, you will realize there are a lot of options out there. They all say the same things like:

“We’re the best!”
“Our instructors are the most experienced!”
“Your success is guaranteed!”

After doing some research on each school, I found that there were some things every school did the same and some things that were different.

Similarities

Every course provider has to follow strict NMLS guidelines in order to be an accredited school. Here are some examples of the things every school does. If they don’t, that is a major red flag, and you should run!

NMLS requires that the 20-hour course is “instructor-led.” This means you are put in a group with an instructor. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to show up at a certain time. It just means the instructor will interact with you in some manner, usually it’s via chat or discussion forum. They are also a great resource to use if you have questions.
All 20-hour courses will start and end on specific dates. This is not like other online courses where you get a year of unlimited access to study whenever you want. The NMLS does not like that kind of online format.
Your time in the course will be tracked—one way or another. Whether you take an online course or go to a live classroom, you will have to spend 20 actual hours to complete the course. There are no shortcuts.

Differences

I found there are only 3 major factors that will determine which school is the best.

Price: Every school has the freedom to set their own price. My only advice here is don’t go with a school just because it’s cheaper. If a school is cheaper, there is usually a reason for it (low quality). This will come and bite you later on. For example, the average pass rate for the National Exam is 58%. If you don’t pass it on your first try, you have to pay the $110 exam fee again and wait another 30 days to re-attempt it.
Quality: Every school develops their own courses and content. Since you are trying to launch a new career, my suggestion is to set yourself up for success by choosing the provider that has the best and most reputable program.
Course availability: Every school has their own start dates and course schedule. This will vary widely. Some programs are only 2 days long while others can last for 2 weeks. Some schools require you to show up at certain times while others do not. Regardless, they will cover the same 20 hours of content.

Now that you got a quick crash course on what to expect, here is my review of the best NMLS course providers in Florida to start your career as a Mortgage Loan Originator.

1. MortgageEducation.com

Best School for Interactive Learning

MortgageEducation.com has the most comprehensive mortgage program in the country. They are one of a few schools that cover all 50 states as well as provide continuing education for after you get licensed. This is really handy, especially if you have your sights set on being licensed in multiple states. Since they cover all the states, you will be able to get all your courses from one school very easily.

They just spent a great deal of time (and money) to take their program to the next level. The 20-hour pre-license course is offered in full video now, and there are live instructors to help you along the way. The best part is that you have the flexibility to start any time and finish any time (up to 14 days). This means if you are in a rush to get licensed, you can start right now and complete the course in as little as 3 days. Or, if you already have a full-time job or busy schedule, you can take more time and work on it on nights and weekends as needed.

Approved Course Provider NMLS #: 1400051

Best School for Text-based Courses

Learn Mortgage is a part of a really well-known real estate and mortgage school called Hondros Learning. They have had a long-standing presence on the east coast and claim that over 300,000 students nationwide have been able to pass the exam and get licensed on their first attempt with their program.

The pre-licensing course is your standard online format. You get one page of text on the screen at a time, and you just flip through it like a book. There are multiple-choice quizzes and final exams that need to be passed to get credit for completing the course. You can choose to complete the course over 7 days or 14 days. Although you can study at any time during the day, there are assignments due on certain days, so you have to make sure you keep pace with the program. If you love to read books, then this will be the perfect program for you.

Learn Mortgage also has a really strong program to prepare you for the National Exam called CompuCram. This “all-in-one” solution has been designed to be comprehensive and everything you need to successfully pass the exam. You get interactive flash cards along with unlimited MLO practice exams that ensure you never see the same practice test twice. It is mobile and tablet friendly, so you can easily study while on the go. There is also a “Readiness Indicator” gauge that tracks your progress and will let you clearly know when you will be ready to take the exam.

Approved Course Provider NMLS #: 1400214

Best School for Knowledge Seekers

If you are not in a rush to get licensed and want to study the hardest you possibly can to pass the exam, then The CE Shop is the mortgage school for you. The CE Shop has been helping thousands of students successfully obtain their real estate license for the past 17 years and have recently started offering mortgage courses as well.

All the courses at The CE Shop are 100% online-based, which means you read an eTextbook and complete online tests. However, there is a good amount of visual graphics and short video clips interspersed throughout the course to keep you engaged. With this program, you can sign up and start whenever you are ready. You can also move at your own pace, but even if you finish it quickly, they don’t release your certificates until 13 days after your start date.

The thing that really separates The CE Shop from other programs is how rigorous the courses are. There are no shortcuts with this program. In fact, you have to take a quick quiz about the course before taking the actual course. What all this translates into is that you will truly be able to master the material and pass the exams with flying colors. If you are up for a good challenge, then this would be a great fit for you.

Approved Course Provider NMLS #: 1405076

MLO School Reviews

Top 3 Online MLO NMLS Courses in California in 2023

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Real Estate Like a Boss

If you want to work in the real estate industry, helping people obtain financing for a house is one of the best ways to do it. You can make as much money as a real estate agent without having to step outside of the office.

You will need to obtain a Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) license (or what they call an endorsement if you have a real estate license) by completing the 20-hour course required by California and passing the National Exam.

If you are like me, you did a quick Google search to find an NMLS-approved course provider and can’t decide on which school to choose. There are so many of them!

This Is What I Discovered

There are certain things that every school will do the same. There are mandatory requirements set by the NMLS, so there is no way around it. Here are just a few examples:

When you login to your account, you have to go through an annoying biometric password system called BioSig-ID.
If you take an online course, you will have to spend a minimum number of hours logged in online. If you are idle for too long, it will automatically log you out. There are no shortcuts.
Every course has to be “instructor-led” that starts and ends on a specific date. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a live person has to teach the class. It just means that you will be put in a group (or what they call a cohort) and has an instructor assigned to you. The instructor will check in with you and try to interact with you on assignments. This is usually done via messaging or discussion forum.

What Makes A School Different From The Rest?

Although every approved NMLS course provider has to abide by certain regulations, what sets a school apart from the others is their price, quality, and course availability.

Price: My only advice here is don’t go with a school just because it’s cheaper. If a school is cheaper, there is usually a reason for it (low quality). This will come and bite you later on. For example, the average pass rate for the National Exam is 58%. If you don’t pass it on your first try, you have to pay the $110 exam fee again and wait another 30 days to re-attempt it.
Quality: Every school develops their own courses and content. They have their own staff of instructors that teach in a certain way and with a certain style. Eg. Do you want an instructor who talks in a monotone voice or someone who is full of energy and gets you excited?
Course availability: Every school has their own start dates and course schedule. This will vary widely. Some programs are only 2 days long while others can last for 2 weeks. Some schools require you to show up at certain times while others do not. Regardless, they will cover the same 20 hours of content.

Now that you know the basic similarities and differences between each school, let’s take a look at the best NMLS course providers in California to launch your career as a Mortgage Loan Originator.

NOTE: If you have a California real estate license, you will need to select the DRE version. If you don’t have one, then you will go with the DFPI version.

1. Mortgage-Education.com

Best School for Learning Interactively

Approved Course Provider NMLS #: 1400051

2. Learn Mortgage (Allied Schools)

Best School for Text-based Courses

Allied Schools is one of the most recognizable real estate brands in California. They have been the industry leaders for almost 30 years. They recently merged with one of the biggest mortgage schools in the Midwest called Learn Mortgage and have since consolidated their programs under the Learn Mortgage platform.

The format and structure of the course is virtually identical. The course is formatted as an online book, where you go through the chapters, complete assignments, and take a multiple-choice test at the end. Although you can work on it at any time of the day, these courses do follow a daily schedule so you have to keep pace and complete sections by a certain day. If you love reading books, then this is the right program for you.

You can choose between a 7-day or 14-day track to complete the course, but new classes start on specific days of the week, so you won’t be able to start at any time. For the DRE version, new 7-day classes begin every Tuesdays and Thursdays and the 14-day classes start every Wednesdays and Fridays. For the DFPI version, the 7-day classes only start on Mondays while new classes for the 14-day track start every Wednesdays and Thursdays.

One major upgrade that Allied Schools got with the merger with Learn Mortgage is the exam prep for the National Exam, which is called CompuCram. CompuCram integrates vocabulary tools, practice testing, and comprehensive simulated exams into an “all-in-one” solution. You get unlimited access for 180 days, and there is a “Readiness” indicator that will let you know when you are fully prepared to take the exam.

Approved Course Provider NMLS #: 1400214

3. The CE Shop

Best School for Knowledge Seekers

The CE Shop, based in Colorado, has had a long established presence in the real estate industry. They have recently expanded their offerings to include mortgage courses using their tried-and-true formula for developing world class courses. They cover all the pre-licensing, exam prep, and continuing education courses for all 50 states.

Their program is built on their own propriety learning platform called LEAP 2.0. This is a 100% online course where you read through an eTextbook online and answer multiple choice questions at the end of each section. They incorporate a balanced mix of textual information, videos, and other visual graphics that help reinforce the concepts discussed in the course. You can enroll at any time and work on it as fast or slow as you want (up to 13 days). However, no matter how early you finish the course, certificates don’t get released until the 13th day after your start date.

What makes The CE Shop program different from other schools is how challenging they make their courses. Their goal is to make sure you know the material inside and out. They do this by constantly testing your knowledge on the information you just studied. This means you will probably take longer to finish their courses compared to other schools, but you will be able to retain the material better. If you want to learn as much as possible, then this is the rigorous course that will push you to do your best.

Approved Course Provider NMLS #: 1405076

MLO School Reviews

COMPLETE LIST | NMLS Schools in California (MLO)

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Real Estate Like a Boss Leave a comment

Rank	School	20-hour Pre-licensing Course	8-hour Continuing Education
1	MortgageEducation.com	Webinar	Online, Webinar
2	Learn Mortgage (Allied Schools)	Online, Webinar	Online
3	Affinity Real Estate Services	Online, Webinar, Classroom (Bellflower)	Online, Classroom (Bellflower)
4	First Tuesday		Online
5	Real Estate Trainers, Inc.	Classroom (Anaheim)	Classroom (Anaheim)
6	AAA Mortgage Training	Online, Webinar, Classroom (Tustin)	Online
7	Learn Mortgage	Online, Webinar	Online
8	LoanOfficerSchool.com	Online, Webinar
9	My Mortgage Trainer	Online, Webinar	Online
10	OnCourse Learning	Online, Webinar	Online
11	Real Estate Institute	Online, Webinar	Online
12	Ameritrain Mortgage Institute	Online, Webinar	Online
13	OnlineEd	Online, Webinar	Online
14	AA Real Estate School	Classroom (El Monte)	Classroom (El Monte)
15	Mortgage Educators	Online	Online
16	Duane Gomer Inc	Classroom (Mission Viejo)	Classroom (Mission Viejo)
17	RDH Education Services	Classroom (Livermore)	Classroom (Livermore)
18	The C.O.R.E.	Classroom (Pasadena)
19	Golden Hyde School		Classroom (Rosemead)
20	GoGo Real Estate	Classroom (Diamond Bar)
21	Q & A Real Estate Institute	Classroom (Fountain Valley)
22	Real Estate Educational Services		Classroom (Carlsbad)
23	The Training Academy		Classroom (Huntington Beach)

Getting Licensed

If you want to originate loans in California, the state requires you to complete 20 hours of Pre-licensing Education (PE) and pass the National Exam. Depending on your situation, you may or may not need the 2-hour DBO course. This will come down to which agency you go through: the Department of Business Oversight or Department of Real Estate. This part confuses a lot of people because it really is confusing. So, don’t feel bad if you need to read this a couple of times.

Department of Business Oversight (DBO)

If you just want to originate loans and not be involved with buying/selling real estate, you will most likely be working for a mortgage broker that is registered under the DBO, then you will need to take this 2-hour DBO course. Since you only need 20 hours of PE to fulfill California’s requirement, some schools already have this course in their package setup as a 18-hour National PE course + 2-hour DBO course (20 total hours). However, there are a lot of schools (usually based outside of California) that just have the standard 20-hour National PE course. So, that means you have to also take a 2-hour DBO standalone course. If you go with one of these programs, you will be doing 22 total hours.

Why would anyone take more hours than they have to? Some people really want to take the course in a video webinar format because they don’t like studying by reading online. However, most schools with webinars don’t include the 2-hour DBO course and just offer 20 hours of National content. You have to add that on separately as an online course. As a result, you will have to do more hours (22 total hours) and pay extra. This is purely a personal choice.

Department of Real Estate (DRE)

If you originate loans, you also have the option to get a real estate license (if you don’t have one already). This will allow you to earn more money and opens up more opportunites. In fact, if you work for a company that is registered under the DRE, then you will be required to have both the real estate and loan licenses.

However, what happens is that your loan license sits on top of your real estate license, and instead of using the word “license,” California calls it an “endorsement.” Don’t worry about all the semantics though. The requirements are the same. You still need to complete the 20-hour course and pass the National Exam. The DRE doesn’t have any agency-specific course requirement like the DBO does. The DRE allows you to take any approved elective course, so you can just get any approved 20-hour National course.

MLO School Reviews