Branch Opportunity of the Week: Carrington pursues largely untapped market

When you’re looking for a branch network, you want one that separates itself from the pack and opens up opportunities for new business. That’s why Carrington, one of the only mortgage companies specifically pursuing the underserved market, might be the right choice for you

When you’re looking for a branch network, you want one that separates itself from the pack and opens up opportunities for new business. That’s why Carrington, one of the only mortgage companies specifically pursuing the underserved market, might be the right choice for you.

“From an underwriting perspective, I’d talk specifically about our focus on the underserved market. We’ve raised our hands and said specifically, ‘We want to be the company to take care of the tough loans,’” says Raymond Brousseau, Carrington’s executive vice president of mortgage services. “We’ve focused on our marketing efforts on driving toward that borrower whose FICO score is between 550 and 640. That segment represents one third of the entire borrowing population in this country.”

In pursuing that market’s business, Carrington gives its LOs tools not available at many other mortgage companies.

“We are dominant in that space, we want that business, and it’s a huge market where there’s not much competition,” Broussea says. “It’s a great way for the LO to be able to separate themselves from others. On the flip side for our retail LOs, you’ve got that, but you’ve got all the other products. They still have access to jumbo products, conventional products, Fannie, Freddie. … We have a very wide product offering. On top of that, our compensation plan is top notch. It’s got to be top 10 in the country in terms of LOs making a good living.”

Going after such a wide market means you need a top-notch compliance department. Fortunately, that’s exactly what Carrington has.

“From a compliance standpoint, we’ve got a team of attorneys in place,” Brousseau says. “We’ve got our own internal and external compliance sources, so folks in the field don’t have to wonder if they’re doing things the right way. On the eve of QM, I’m sure there were a lot of companies that were concerned or anxious or uncomfortable. But here, it was a non-event because we already had our robust compliance in place, and we had the system built to deal with it. We’ve got very strong controls and oversights in place to make sure we’re doing business compliantly.”