Option One Mortgage Corp. Opens Doors at Hacienda

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

4256 Hacienda Drive Facility will House Company's National Accounts Division

Option One Mortgage Corp., which consistently ranks in the top five originators of non-prime residential mortgage loans by volume, has leased over 22,000 square feet at 4256 Hacienda Drive. The facility will be the new home of its National Accounts division, which forms relationships with financial institutions, including national and regional banks, to allow them to offer nonprime loans. Nonprime loans are loans made to borrowers who, for any reason, cannot qualify for a prime-rate loan. Reasons might include income, employment history, loan size, past credit problems, or other factors.

"Option One is known as a service leader with a strong customer focus," says Craig Castelein, vice president for Option One's National Accounts division and the manager of National Accounts' Pleasanton Regional Operating Center. "In fact, that is a key reason why we are opening this facility: to be closer and to more easily serve our customers in the Northwest. Now, we will be geographically closer, and we'll have a dedicated support team to serve these customers. This team will work to continue providing lending decisions that make sense with quick turnaround times, along with a convenient process to help support our customers."

Option One Mortgage Corporation began doing business more than 10 years ago. The company focuses on making mortgage products and services available to diverse communities and borrowers on an equal-opportunity basis. It is now a division of financial giant H&R Block and has received top ratings from Fitch, Moody's and Standard and Poor's for high-quality servicing of its own loans and those of other national lenders. The company currently has more than $51 billion in assets under management.

Option One is also known for its dedication to community service. In support of Habitat for Humanity, the company has built 14 homes since 1998 - five in Orange County and nine in local markets served by its national branch locations. Four projects are under construction in Dallas, Nashville, Charlotte, and Westminster, Calif. Additional projects, including a project in Huntington Beach and two homes in Jacksonville, Fla., are in the planning phase. In October 2004, the company joined with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) to build a Habitat home in Daly City. The previous year, it had participated in the MBA's Habitat build in San Diego. Option One associates also volunteer their time to Junior Achievement to facilitate financial literacy and business-education programs for young people through classroom teaching and job shadowing, in addition to financial support provided to the organization from the company.

Option One will open its new facility with 30 associates. Positions include account executives, sales managers, team leads, loan set up staff, underwriters, account managers, closers, and funders. The branch can accommodate 160-170 associates, in anticipation of building the team over a two-year period. Option One has more than 5,000 associates in offices nationwide, including a large network of wholesale and retail branches. The company's National Accounts regional operating centers are located in Southern California, Virginia, Florida, Rhode Island, Illinois and Texas. The Pleasanton regional operating center will be serving customers in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Hawaii.

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