Covering the mortgage-lending industry since 1985, Scotsman Guide Media publishes the separate, monthly Scotsman Guide Commercial Edition and Scotsman Guide Residential Edition -- in addition to the tools on scotsmanguide.com -- for mortgage originators nationwide. Its mission is to be the leading media provider of key resources for the mortgage-origination industry. Its print and digital magazines -- plus online tools such as Scotsman Guide Loan Post and its award-winning lender search engines -- provide free educational materials and tools designed to enhance productivity. Scotsman Guide offers one free, ongoing print subscription to every loan-origination office that brokers loans in the United States. Digital subscriptions are free and open to all mortgage-industry professionals.

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Learn how to become an FHA DE Underwriter with the DE Underwriter Prep Package (www.DEunderwriter.org). Although you will NOT obtain your CHUMS number with us, this "professional development" training & certification program will help to navigate the various steps needed to get sponsored by a lender and obtain your CHUMS number. You'll also get certified as a Certified FHA Manual Underwriter (NAMU-CFMU) which will help to make you more marketable and validate to prospective employers you're a plug n' go candidate.... Click Here to Learn More >>

At NAMU® we are always striving to improve and enhance our mortgage underwriter training curriculum, "professional development" certification programs, product offerings, member benefits and more. We also work hard to offer new & exciting products/services that can help benefit members and non-members alike.

Below is the latest round of improvements for 2016: 

1. New NAMU® & NAMP® Online Store... You've asked and we've delivered. From coffee mugs, to t-shirts, pens and more. Now you can purchase your favorite NAMP® & NAMU® items. Click Here to Shop Now >>
2. New Certification "Oversight Committee" Coming Soon... We are in the process of assembling a small group of mortgage industry professionals from different disciplines: CEO level, underwriting manager, senior processing, etc.) to serve as an impartial review committee for our various NAMU® certification programs. Each committee member will be responsible for reviewing course materials, recommending new courses, suggesting certification enhancements, and more. 
3. New Online Timed "Proctored" Exams... Starting in June 2016 we now use a "proctored" exam format which means we are now able to confirm you are the actual exam taker. With that said, you’ll now need a webcam & microphone, and when you take the exam online, there will be a live person who will confirm your identity by requesting your picture ID as well as guide you through a series of security questions to confirm your identity. 
4. New Exam Re-Take Policy... Starting in June 2016 you may now re-take the NAMU® certification exam up to 3 times with a 2-week "cooling off" period in between each failed exam. If you fail the NAMU® exam three times, we will issue a full refund, and will require you to wait 1 year before you can re-register for the NAMU® certification. NOTE: the 1-year waiting period will start from the date of the third failed exam.
5. New Yearly NAMU® Re-Certification... Starting in June 2016 we now require you to re-certify yearly in order to keep NAMP® certification active. And as such, you will have the option each year to renew your NAMP® certification. If you choose to do so, a $299 re-certification charge will apply each year; at which time, you will be required to take a new exam and pass a new criminal/sex offender background check via a third-party provider. The $299 re-certification charge will provide you with an additional year of access to the updated course materials as well the required online training. You’ll also have an additional year to ask questions directly to the instructors. 

The underwriting process is an integral part of every loan that's completed in the mortgage industry -- from jumbo loans to Federal Housing Administration loans, purchase loans to refinances. 

What are some of NAMU's concerns for the next few years? From an underwriting perspective, we just don't want to go backward and loosen up the guidelines and allow for subprime loans....

Read Full Article Here: http://www.sg-resdigital.com/resdigital/201207re#pg18

By Andrea Murad
FOXbusiness.com
April 10, 2012

... Be prepared. Lenders generally want to see three to 12 months of a borrower’s paystubs to verify income and employment, one to three years of a borrower’s tax returns and W-2s, and up to 12 months of a borrower’s bank statements to verify assets, says Reed Piano, managing director at the National Association of Mortgage Underwriters.

Self-employed borrowers may be asked for information like business models and projections, for example, showing their business is solid. “More information doesn’t hurt,” he adds. “The underwriter wants all this paperwork so they know who this borrower is.”

Know your home value. Since home prices are highly variable and continue to fall in some markets, lenders want well-supported property valuations. Experts agree that a knowledgeable homeowner can help an appraiser accurately value their home.

READ FULL ARTICLE: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/04/10/should-jump-off-r...

By Fred Lucas
CNSnews.com

... Underwriting is generally done for both initial mortgages and refinancing, said Reed Piano, managing director of the National Association of Mortgage Underwriters. He said the normal mortgage underwriting process checks “employment verification, income verification, analysis or thorough examination of a borrower’s creditworthiness based on a lender’s requirements, any federal or state requirements.”

When an institution does the underwriting for a mortgage, it is "validating the entire process. They are validating the appraisal, the title, the credit, income verification, pretty much everything from A-to-Z and they’re seeing if the file is good and meets the requirements,” Piano told CNSNews.com.

The White House estimates 2 million to 3 million FHA borrowers are eligible. “While it is always difficult to estimate participation in these programs, this will result in significant monthly savings for hundreds of thousands of families,” a White House news release said.

READ FULL ARTICLE: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-will-make-taxpayers-guarantee-mort...

By CYNTHIA ANDERSON, Correspondent
HeraldTribune.com
December 16, 2011

"You don't get rogue underwriters who come in with their own little rule books," said Piano. "They're serious, career-minded people who just want to go home at the end of the day and spend time with their families."

Popularly viewed as too lenient in the years leading up to the collapse of the housing market, and too strict in its aftermath, mortgage underwriters, at least according to Piano, are professionals trying to do a tough job well.

"In my view, they're the smartest ones of the whole bunch," said Piano, referring to the panoply of players, from broker to banker to loan servicer, involved in the issuance of a mortgage.

To assess a loan, underwriters typically look at an applicant's three "C's" — capacity, collateral and credit. Capacity suggests the ability to make payments on the loan based on the borrower's income, as well as his or her debt/asset ratio, while collateral refers to the type of property in question, its value, and how it will be used.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20111216/ARTICLE/111219682

By: PRWEB

Washington, DC (PRWEB) October 21, 2011 The National Association of Mortgage Underwriters® (NAMU®) has added a new comprehensive Bank Foreclosure Reviewer Certification entitled: Certified Bank Foreclosure Examiner (NAMU®-CBFE). To help aid in the bank foreclosure review process, the National Association of Mortgage Underwriters® (NAMU®) has added a new proprietary "professional development"...

By: Fins.com

FINS.com By Sindhu Sundar July 21, 2010 "So You Want To Be An Underwriter" Banks and lenders across the country are casting their nets to try to find qualified mortgage loan underwriters -- there's a demand for around 5,000 in the immediate future. But there's a catch: Banks are having trouble finding them. In the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, qualifications for mortgage underwriters have...

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