Lender Boosts Alt-A Hires

Mortgage Lenders Network USA inflated recruitment plans because it was recently granted approval to begin construction on a 305,000 square-foot national headquarters, instead of the 100,000 square-foot space originally intended, spokeswoman Lauren Carmody told MortgageDaily.com.

“They’re optimistic that business is going well and they’re filling jobs,” Carmody said.

In five months alone, from the end of September 2005 through February’s end, the company, which claims to be “one of the top originators and servicers of Alt-A/Non-Conforming mortgages in the country,” added 265 employees for a total staff of 1249, she added.

At the beginning of that period, it was expected that the Middletown-based company’s new headquarters location in Wallingford would bring in 1,000 jobs over the next eight years — but now Mortgage Lenders said it anticipates hiring as many as 1,500 over the next three years.

The hires will earn an average annual salary of $42,000 and will fulfill a variety of positions, Carmody said.

Additionally, between now and summer 2007, when the new base location is expected to be complete, Mortgage Lenders will have approximately 1,200 Connecticut employees — almost double the 650 currently in place, according to the announcement.

The new building, to be located on a 109-acre parcel, is slated to break ground late this month and boost Wallingford’s Grand List revenues by as much as $2 million over the next seven years.

“We are thrilled that Wallingford has decided to welcome our new headquarters,” said company President Mitchell L. Heffernan in an announcement. “We intend to be the model of a good neighbor and good corporate citizen.”