KNOXVILLE, TENN. – Mortgage Investors Group has opened its first retail branch in North Carolina as part of its continuing efforts to expand its mortgage lending presence across the Southeast, company officials announced today.
“The city of Charlotte is a huge financial community, and it is growing,” said Hugh Kemp, who will manage the new office. “Each and every year, more and more people are moving here to this metropolitan area.”
The branch, which is located at 3440 Toringdon Way, Ste. 205, in the Ballantyne area, will serve borrowers in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties, as well as nearby South Carolina.
“There are a lot of people who work in Charlotte who live in South Carolina, so geographically, the branch allows us to tap into both markets,” said Gary Royal, MIG’s Southeast regional sales manager.
Royal said the new branch complements MIG’s Centralized Sales team that is also based in Charlotte.
“This gives us a more traditional retail presence for our borrowers and is part of our strategy for Southeastern expansion into target areas where we feel we can be very successful,” he said. “The goal is to grow that area through the hiring of experienced and reputable mortgage lending professionals that can go out and really become our ambassadors for the area and work with real estate agents and builders to really help their customers achieve their goals of homeownership.”
Since opening its first branch in 1989 in Knoxville, Tenn., MIG has grown to 29 locations across three states and earned a reputation among industry peers as a leader in residential mortgage lending. It has been the Tennessee Housing Development Agency’s (THDA) top lender annually since 2003, as well as the state’s leading USDA lender every year since 2014.
Royal said Kemp’s 23 years of mortgage lending experience will serve him well as he recruits new talent to serve homebuyers in the Carolinas.
“Our goal is to grow with the right people, and that starts now,” Royal said. “He’s already recruiting and networking and is looking for the right people who fit our culture to grow the sales team in that market.”
Kemp said he’s excited about the opportunity to bring MIG’s brand of customer-focused mortgage lending services to a community he has called home for nearly three decades.
“What MIG brings to this area is that kind of local home-town feel to lending and to helping people realize their dreams of homeownership,” he said. “I like the way MIG is old-school in how they deal with people and how they treat people well, but they are also on the cutting edge of technology to serve more people in today’s world.”
MIG is a growing residential mortgage lender in the Southeast building on a proven track record as a long-time industry leader. The Knoxville-based company, founded by loan officers, employs more than 400 people. As it continues to expand its footprint, MIG remains committed to serving borrowers across the Southeast.
