Franklin Mortgage Experiences Unprecedented Growth

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Everyone loves a success story - especially if it involves a company in their own community. If you like such tales, you'll be pleased to hear that Franklin Mortgage, at 4305 Hacienda Drive here in Hacienda, is doing quite well in this modern and ever-changing economy.

Franklin is a new mortgage brokerage firm that just opened in March of this year and has become one of the faster growing firms in the Bay Area. The company started with four employees in March and now has 17 with plans to further increase its roster. Franklin Mortgage is in the business of assisting customers with home purchases, home finance, commercial lending, and construction lending. The company is currently funding approximately 13.8 million dollars per month.

"Franklin Mortgage deals with some 23 different wholesale lenders, so we have a variety of choices to look at in getting the client the lowest rate out there," says Charles Hargrave, vice president of Franklin Mortgage and Real Estate Investment Inc. "Generally, our lenders' rates are lower than the bank's, so we can offer our customers lower rates than the standard institutional lenders." Franklin is also working with banking giants like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citibank to finance mid-to-large housing developments and is also forming partnerships with churches who are looking to develop affordable housing in their communities.

Franklin has roots in the Bay Area as well. The company's founder, Viri Puri, was in the construction business for 30 years, and assisted in the development and design of the San Francisco International Airport parking structure, as well as several office buildings in downtown Oakland.

"We chose to do business in the City of Pleasanton primarily because several of the title companies that we do business with are located here," Franklin says. "Space was also a criteria. There's plenty of room for us to grow here in this building." While the company enjoys its Hacienda facility, most of its business currently comes from outside the Tri-Valley. The company is licensed to do business anywhere in the state and, right now, most of its business is coming from Southern California.

Growth seems to be the mantra of Franklin Mortgage. Though the company plans to expand its operations in Pleasanton, other offices may also be on the horizon. "This is our primary office but as it expands, we plan on opening up an office either in Oakland or someplace close to Oakland. There's a lot of home building in that part of the East Bay, particularly in Richmond, Vallejo, Pinole, Hercules, and Antioch."

Photo: Charles Hargrave (left) and Rohaj Puri stand before Franklin's board tracking over $9 million in mortgages in process.

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