From time to time, we receive calls from mortgage licensees that, for whatever reason, have decided to close their doors and discontinue engaging in the mortgage lending business.  Here’s a brief checklist of some matters to resolve in winding up the business:

1. Notify NCCOB of intent to cease operations.
2. Store records properly.  Make arrangements to store properly the records and files that you are required to maintain for three (3) years.  Advise NCCOB where the records will be and who to contact and how, in the event that it becomes necessary for one of our examiners or investigators to review the files. 
3. Do not destroy files unless permitted.  Properly destroy those files that are not required to be maintained by shredding, pulverizing, or burning them.
4. Satisfy outstanding complaints.  Ensure that the company has properly and completely responded to any outstanding complaints received and forwarded to NCCOB.
5. Resolve any outstanding examinations issues.  If the company has recently been examined by NCCOB, ensure that it has properly responded to any examination issues that might remain open even if the company closed.
6. Final wage reports.  In winding up the affairs of the licensee take the appropriate steps to ensure that all employees receive their final report of wages paid so that they may properly report their taxable income and that the company has reported as it is required to do to the IRS and State Department of Revenue.
7. Dissolve company.  Follow the appropriate steps to dissolve the company; for example, if the company is incorporated consult with your attorney for the steps to dissolve the corporation under the provisions of Chapter 55 of the North Carolina General Statutes, Article 14. 
8. Contact creditors and lenders of changed status.  The company may wish to notify the credit bureaus and lenders with whom it has done business to ensure that they are aware that you are no longer in business so they will no longer run credit or accept loan applications from your former employees who might attempt to continue using your license for their purposes.
9. Surrender licenses.   Collect company principal office license and any branch office licenses which may have been issued by this office and forward them to NCCOB with a letter advising that you have or are going out of business on such and such a date.
10. Submit pipeline to NCCOB.  Advise, if you have any applications in your pipeline, to include the borrower’s name, address, loan amount and terms, lender and sufficient other information so that if we receive an inquiry from the lender or borrower we can know how to respond.  NCCOB prefers that the company not dissolve and go out of business until it has cleared its pipeline and either closed all loans in its pipeline or transferred the loan files and pipeline with the borrower’s consent to another company who will close or complete the loan process.
11. Notify bond company.  Notify the surety bond company of your date of dissolution and cancellation of bond effective after such date.
12. Set up procedure to destroy files after required retention period or other obligation to retain files ends. It is important that you set up a procedure so that at the end of the three (3) year required retention period, all confidential information will be destroyed by shredding, pulverizing, or burning.

Rev. 03/09/2007