3 Hour NY SAFE 2025 State Law Course

This course is intended to satisfy the requirement for 3 of the 11 hours of annual continuing education (CE) needed for renewal of your MLO license. This 3 Hour NY SAFE 2025 State Law Course contains 3 hours of state-specific content regarding New York laws and rules. This state-specific content must be accompanied by 3 hours of content related to federal law, 2 hours on non-traditional mortgage lending, 2 hours on ethics (which also addresses fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending issues), and an additional hour of elective content. By completing this course, you will fulfill 3 of the 11 hours of continuing education necessary for MLO license renewal in New York State.   

The 3-hour class will be broken up into two modules, with a 5-question quiz and activity/exercise after each module.  

In the first module, we will review the state-specific authorities and regulatory framework that govern mortgage loan origination activities in New York State alongside useful definitions from the New York code. We will examine the model SAFE Act and discuss its influence on the laws of New York, and we will cover the qualifying activities of an MLO – those that require licensure – and the differences between various loan professionals in the industry. The first module also addresses the duties of MLOs in contrast to the duties of originating entities; surety bond regulations; and the New York Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

In the second module, we will begin with the New York Home Equity Theft Protection Act (HETPA) as it relates to mortgage loan origination and consumer protection. After that, we will discuss a variety of mortgage-related laws and issues faced by the industry, including the pre-foreclosure notification required under New York's Real Property Actions & Proceedings Law (RPAPL) Section 1304. This law outlines the notification requirements when informing a homeowner that their mortgage is at risk of being foreclosed on. We will discuss the rules applicable to vacant and abandoned ('zombie property") upkeep. Toward the end of class, we will present several recent examples of enforcement actions taken against licensees by the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). These case summaries will help illustrate the prohibited acts for mortgage licensees and the importance of compliance with state law. In the final section, we will share some key industry announcements and developments in the laws and rules that govern MLOs in the state, including a proposed new regulation associated with the Community Reinvestment Act, and news regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity.