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Quality Home Loans Acquires Bankers Express Mortgage
By Alton Gary Simpson
AGOURA HILLS, CA -- Hard money lender Quality Home Loans, has acquired Calabasas, Calif.-based mortgage banker Bankers Express Mortgage Inc. Both Quality and Bankers Express specialize in loans to borrowers with marginal credit, but also have significant amounts of equity in their homes with which to secure their loans. Quality will add 3,500 affiliated brokers from Bankers Express to its 6,500 for a total of 10,000 affiliated brokers. Bankers Express' operations will be consolidated at Quality's headquarters here and the acquisition will grow Quality's 130-person workforce by 38% with the addition of 50 employees. Bankers Express president Brian O'Shaughnessy will be president of the combined operations, which will use the Quality Home Loans name.
"I have tremendous respect for John [Quality CEO John Gaiser] and his professional organization," said Mr. O'Shaughnessy. "This is an incomparable opportunity for both companies to strengthen their already powerful individual presences in the sector. Additionally, the current market conditions make this a great time for us to make the move, especially with the strong backing we have from the securitization engine at Quality."
According to Mr. Gaiser, "This transaction will allow us to offer a broader array of residential hard money loans and builds on our strength in California with a strong presence in Florida. These are the nation's two most important geographic areas for non-conforming lending."
At the same time that the Bankers Express acquisition was announced, Quality Home Loans declared that it had obtained a credit facility of $40 million from Santa Ana, Calif.-based hedge fund, Pacificor LLC. Pacificor manages more than $500 million and specializes in special situations credit investments. Mr. Gaiser noted that the hedge fund's backing would significantly improve Quality's financial strength and standing.
"Before Quality's acquisition of Bankers [Express], Quality was already the clear leader in the residential hard money space," said Michael Klein, CEO and chief investment officer, Pacificor. "Now, with the expanded geographic footprint of the combined company, increased volume of loans and the added strength of Bankers' management team, Quality will continue to pull away from the field."
Mr. Gaiser said, "This year we're expanding our reach to states like Florida. Unlike most of our competitors, we don't have to find investors and (based on a solid track record) we will continue to underwrite our own guidelines. By adhering to these tenets and endeavoring to serve a market in need, we've brought efficiencies into this space and passed that on to borrowers who few lenders want and to brokers who are willing to help them."
Quality Home Loans has closed more than $695 million through its "Home Saver Program (hard money underwriting/subprime pricing)," making it the largest originator of this product in the nation.
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