Yes as long as the meet the “principal activity” part of the definition of a nonsupervised lender and their loan officers who plan to originate FHA loans do not have outside employment in the real estate industry.
Principal Activity: The FHA definitions of nonsupervised lenders are as follows:
Nonsupervised Mortgagee: Nondepository financial entities that have as their principal activity the origination, underwriting, funding, servicing and/or holding of real estate mortgages. They are commonly known as mortgage bankers, correspondent lenders or mortgage lenders in the industry
Nonsupervised Loan Correspondent: Nondepository financial entities that have as their principal activity the origination of real estate mortgages. They are commonly known as mortgage brokers in the industry. They must sale or transfer their FHA originations to the FHA approved mortgagee who underwrote the loan and can have multiple mortgagees that underwrite their loans. These underwriting mortgagees are referred to as “sponsors” in the FHA loan programs and are also known as DE mortgagees.
These definitions are in paragraph 1-2 in Chapter 1 of the FHA Title II Mortgagee Approval Handbook 4060.1, Rev-2.
Compliance with the principal activity requirement is determined by gross income. At least 50% of a company’s gross income comes from its mortgage business. This includes any type of mortgages. When a company is new, this calculation can’t be made, but it is made for all nonsupervised lenders as part of the FHA lender annual renewal process.
Please see FAQ #21 below on employment restrictions on staff of a FHA approved lender.