Georgia Amends Definition of “Mortgage Broker” In Licensing Laws

On April 18, 2019, Georgia amended its law regarding the licensing of mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers to exempt retailers and retail brokers of manufactured homes, mobile homes, and residential industrialized buildings from its definition of “mortgage broker.”  The act also requires that all conflicting laws be repealed.  These changes become effective on July 1, 2019.

Other changes include: (i) minor re-wording and re-punctuation of existing statutory language, which only serve to clarify ambiguity in the statute; and (ii) the subdivision of paragraph (19)—the definition of “mortgage broker” under the statute—into subsections (A), (B) and (C). 

Subsection (A) defines the type of persons who are considered “mortgage brokers” under the statute.  This subsection largely takes its wording from the previous version of the statute, with a few minor and non-essential re-positioning and re-punctuation changes;

Subsection (B) exempts retailers and retail brokers of manufactured homes, mobile homes, and residential industrialized buildings from the definition provided in Subsection (A), provided that certain qualifications are met.

Subsection (C) exempts employees of retailers and retail brokers of manufactured homes, mobile homes, and residential industrialized buildings from the definition provided in Subsection (A), again provided that certain qualifications are met.