No implosion for Vision Mortgage
Add comment October 31st, 2007
Since the national mortgage meltdown hit full stride this year, hundreds of mortgage brokers or mortgage financing companies have gone out of business. There even is a web site tracking them as they go under. You can find it at www.mortgageimplode.com. The site’s Implode-O-Meter now is at 177 companies disappearing since the end of 2006.
The newest five to go out of business are interesting in themselves. It includes Honor State Bank. What does it say when Honor can’t survive a downturn?
Of course, in all tough times there is opportunity. Loves Park-based Vision Mortgage Group announced today it opened its ninth retail branch, this one in Bensenville. Vision Mortgage now has about 50 employees at branches in Chicago, Aurora, Des Plaines, St. Charles, Cicero, Bensenville, Beloit, Wis., and Tacoma, Wash.
According to one of the two company founders, Michael Urnezis, a key for Vision Mortgage is that after starting out as a mortgage broker, over time it has turned itself into a mortgage banking firm. Vision Mortgage underwrites and services its mortgages — meaning it uses its own money — and that’s allowed it to grow where others are failing.
“When you aren’t underwriting your own loans, you give up control,” Urnezis said. “If you put a loan with a company that ends up on the implosion list, that hurts your reputation.”
Perhaps because the company was lending out its own money, it wasn’t as aggressive in the subprime market. Those are borrowers who have middling to poor credit and whose loans this year are failing at record rates.
“We had some subprime products, but it certainly was not our niche,” Urnezis said.
So while financial companies nationwide sort through a raft of bad loans, Urnezis said Vision Mortgage is preparing for growth. He said they are planning to continue to open retail outlets in 2007 and 2008 so they are well positioned for 2009 when this mortgage mess may finally be over.
