A mortgage underwriter is in charge of registering mortgage applications and is responsible for evaluating loans to ensure the company’s profitability and decrease the risk of loss. They perform multiple additional duties, such as appraising the property and determining the risks before property approval.
The mortgage underwriter is considered to have complex duties within a company and requires education, a license and certifications to practice the profession. If you are in Texas and want to become a mortgage underwriter, you must follow specific steps and keep in mind some considerations.
Steps to becoming a mortgage underwriter
Also known as mortgage underwriters in Texas, they are responsible for reviewing the applicant’s income and assets, checking credit scores and all approved and rejected tax returns. It is a comprehensive task that must be performed with the necessary laws and expertise in mind.
Generally speaking, a mortgage underwriter checks the applicant’s financial condition and decides whether or not to approve the loan. As in Texas, throughout the United States, a person must follow these steps to become a mortgage underwriter:
Step One: Get an education
To become a mortgage underwriter, one must be sufficiently educated. The person must have a degree such as a bachelor’s degree in finance or business. Although it is not essential to have a university degree to practice the profession, companies value candidates with this type of specialization.
It is also valid to have a course, to have passed a program or to have basic studies in finance or any career related to the subject.
Proper career training is the first step to becoming a mortgage underwriter in Texas. A candidate with a background in financial management, financial statement analysis and financial markets is an excellent choice to begin this path.
Step two: Becoming a licensed mortgage underwriter
The previous step was aimed at pre-preparation; in this second step, we address career execution. In this case, you must obtain a license as a mortgage underwriter. In the first few years of experience, you must perform as a “loan officer”, and to do so, you need a license from the state.
It is necessary for the applicant to pass these steps:
- Have an NMLS account and an identification number.
- Completion of the pre-licensing course or program requirements.
- Pass the SAFE licensing exam
- Apply for your license with NMLS
Step Three: Full training for mortgage underwriters
It is necessary, in some cases, for the company to train you to perform your job functions correctly. This will depend on the company you decide to work for.
As you may have noticed, these are not strict or complicated steps to follow. What is important, in any case, is that the candidate has the appropriate education to formally enter the career.
These are the skills you need to become a mortgage underwriter.
As in any job, the worker needs to have specific skills, both soft and hard, to become an efficient employee. Some of these characteristics can be learned during college or work experience, while others are an innate part of the individual’s personality.
Here are some of the skills you should have:
- Analytical skills: The daily work requires the ability to analyze and understand financial data.
- Mathematical knowledge: Being a career related to numbers, accounts and statistics, the candidate needs to have certain numerical skills.
- Detail-orientation: This is one of the essential characteristics. The mortgage underwriter must be extremely focused and detail-oriented in all their work.
- Organized: Someone who cannot manage their work does not have much hope for their career. Orderliness is one of the points that add up the most within the trade.
- Communication skills: The job requires the candidate to be constantly conversing with clients, loan officers and others; therefore, it is essential that they know how to communicate assertively.
How much does a mortgage underwriter in Texas make?
The average salary for a mortgage underwriter in Texas is around $5,564 per month. It is estimated that, on an annual basis, the average is around $66,771 excluding bonuses and other benefits.
It is essential to clarify that the salary varies according to the level of studies, work experience and the different functions that can be developed.
At a national level, the average salary is between US$59,157 and US$77,929 per year. Even so, as we have commented above, this amount can be lower or higher depending on the conditions of each interested party.