The state's anti-predatory lending law, SB 185, went into effect in January of 2007 after a long tough battle. Backers of the law pointed to stats from the Mortgage Bankers Association which showed Ohio leading the nation in the number of foreclosures. Critics worried the state would overreach, punishing good lenders along with the bad. In the end, 185 passed, and included, among other things, are new education and licensing requirements for loan officers. Those rules are great, says Kevin Patterson, the president elect of the Ohio Mortgage Brokers Association. But he says companies are having a tough time getting qualified applicants through the red tape and into classes.
Kevin Patterson: The people who provide the prelicensure training they actually have to have a full class before they teach it, so if they only have two people they aren't going to have it, so now you're playing a waiting game.
Patterson says a national subprime lending crunch has also led many offices to slim down. And, he says, national lenders like Wells Fargo are no longer offering certain subprime loans - like those that require little proof of income - because of the new state law. That, Patterson says, is also impacting brokers' bottom lines. I'm Mhari Saito, 90.3.