Hundreds of mortgage employees are being recruited by lenders across the country, and most of the openings are in loan production. Mortgage branch recruiters have also been busy lately.
Increased demand for mortgage employees has the national recruiting firm of Hammerhouse LLC busy recruiting for a growing list of clients. The Mission Viejo, Calif.-based company said on Oct. 31 that its office in North Carolina had doubled in size, while two new recruiters have been hired. In addition, an operations talent recruiting division is being launched.
“The need to expand our Hickory, N.C., office is a direct result of the increased demand from our mortgage banking clients for experienced retail and wholesale production professionals that focus on purchase business and have transferable relationships from referral partners and past customers,” Hammerhouse Managing Partner Eric Levin said in the news release.
More than a thousand loan originators are expected to be recruited by Anikim Credit Corp. in 2013. The Orange, Calif., branch recruiter reported last month that it has seen “a flood of new mortgage loan officers” who are looking for “steady work.”
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. previously reported that its staffing stood at 1,108 as of Dec. 31, 2011. The Sun Prairie, Wis.-based lender indicated in a quarterly mortgage banking survey conducted by Mortgage Daily that its headcount has grown to 1,257 full-time employees as of Sept. 30.
As of Sept. 30, total staffing at Stonegate Mortgage was 353 employees, according to the third-quarter survey. Headcount has risen from the 254 employees previously reported by the Indianapolis-based company.
New American Funding announced expansion plans last month. Its Tustin, Calif., headquarters and a San Diego branch are impacted by the expansion. The bigger digs will support a recruiting campaign for loan processors, underwriters, funders and loan officers.
“New American Funding’s competitive compensation packages, sign-on bonuses, high bonus opportunities and family-oriented company culture, was reflected in the company’s election to one of the Best Places to Work in Orange County by the OC Business Journal,” the statement said. “This award, largely based on employee surveys, demonstrates the mortgage lender’s dedication to the well-being and satisfaction of their employees.”
As of March 31, New American employed around 424 people. In the third-quarter survey, the company said that staffing climbed to 559 employees as of Sept. 30.
In St Louis, USAÂ Mortgage reported in the survey that its total headcount finished September at 464. Total employees have grown since April, when USAÂ Mortgage said it employed 392 people.
Default services provider Equator LLC reported last month to Mortgage Daily that its staff size has expanded to 500 employees as of Oct. 21 from 337 as of the end of last year. Over the next 12 months, the Los Angeles-based firm expects to add another 100 employees.
Inlanta Mortgage reported on Oct. 18 that 76 new employees had been hired so far in 2012, including 14 people during just the prior month. Staffing stands at more than 220, while 33 branches are operated in 15 states.
At Waterstone Mortgage Corp., 29 new employees were hired in October, according to a news release. The new staff operates from offices in Idaho, Indiana and Wisconsin. The Pewaukee, Wis.-based lender said that it employs more than 500 employees in 11 states. Last year’s residential originations reportedly exceeded $1 billion.
An Oct. 4 news release from Churchill Mortgage Corp. indicated that 17 employees were hired to support lending in 26 states. The new recruits work in branches located in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Total national staffing at the Brentwood, Tenn.-based firm grew to 292 as of Sept. 30 from 260 as of June 30, according to survey data.
Churchill issued an announcement Tuesday indicating that 23 employees had been added in Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, while a Sept. 13 statement noted the addition of seven Tennessee employees.
More than 500 employees work at Gold Star Mortgage Financial Group from 48 offices, according to a Nov. 6 announcement. Dan Milstein, founder and chief executive officer of the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based firm, told AnnArbor.com LLC last month that around a hundred employees are expected to be recruited over the following 15 months.
Staffing grew to 168 employees as of Sept. 30 at McLean Mortgage Corp. from 149 people as of June 30, according to third-quarter survey data. At the same point last year, the Fairfax, Va.-based company had 122 employees.
Bank of America Corp. reported in 2008 that 3,900 people were employed in “housing retention” at its mortgage unit and at Countrywide Financial Corp., according to a story in October from Reuters. Now, BofA reportedly employs around 42,000 in legacy assets servicing.
Around 17 retail production employees are being recruited in Southern California by Fremont Bank, the San Francisco Business Times reported in October. Southern California retail originations are expected to account for between 8 and 10 percent of total residential originations.
Eight new employees were recruited by Motivity Solutions in the third quarter, the Denver-based company reported to Mortgage Daily. Headcount at the mortgage technology service provider stands at 32.
In excess of a hundred loan originators are expected to be hired by reverse mortgage lender Network Funding LLP, Reverse Mortgage Daily reported. The Houston-based company reportedly employs 700 loan originators in its traditional forward mortgage business.
Sunmark Federal Credit Union hired five mortgage production employees in September, The Business Review reported. The credit union is located in Albany, N.Y.
A partnership between mortgage technology service provider FNCÂ Inc. and Brazil’s Cetip is likely to increase demand for more employees at FNC — which is based in Mississippi and operates offices in Dallas, Detroit, New York and Southern California.
