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RPM MORTGAGE, INC. WELCOMES 1ST WESTERN HOME LOANS
1st Western Home Loans, the largest loan producing mortgage broker in Contra Costa County, has just joined the RPM Mortgage family.
1st Western Home Loans is located in Blackhawk and owned by Jeff Sokol. The company’s mission is to “serve our customers with honesty, integrity and competence…while providing them with the lowest interest rates and closing costs possible.”
Recently however, it was becoming clear that without the support of a mortgage banker, its mission might not be as easy to achieve, which is why 1st Western then turned to RPM as the obvious mortgage banking solution.
“I have known Rob for many years and we have always been friendly competitors,” said Sokol. “The current lending environment has sent a clear signal that having the speed and pricing of being a mortgage banker is mandatory to support our clients. As the largest independently owned mortgage brokerage company in Contra Costa County, we were fortunate enough to have many options to choose from in order to support our loan agents. RPM Mortgage, however, was the most logical choice for us. RPM’s systems, marketing, and technology clearly separate it from its competitors.”
With the addition of 1st Western Home Loans, RPM’s footprint in the East Bay Area is getting larger and larger each day. RPM’s other East Bay offices include Alamo, Pleasanton, Berkeley, Oakland, two Walnut Creek locations and now Blackhawk. Altogether, 7 branches and about 325 loan agents and employees.
Rob Hirt, CEO of RPM Mortgage, noted that with the addition of 1st Western Home Loans, his initiative to have the strongest agents and branches in the East Bay become a part of RPM will be achieved.
“Having a presence in the Blackhawk area that reaches into the Danville, San Ramon, and Livermore area completes our alignment of having the strongest branches by way of production and top agents in the East Bay,” said Hirt.
RPM strives to support and cultivate a working relationship with the top loan agents in the area that want the best in class by way of mortgage banking, technology and marketing. This newfound relationship with 1st Western Home Loans marks yet another branch of top loan agents that continue to see the value in joining RPM.
“Jeff is one of the most talented mortgage executives that I know,” said Hirt. “His ability to lead such a strong and successful group of top tier agents plus his own stellar production makes it easy to see why 1st Western Home Loans closed over $500 million in production for 2009.”
RPM Mortgage, Inc. is based in Walnut Creek and is a private family-owned mortgage bank and broker whose roots in the Bay Area stem back to 1986. RPM has 36 branches in California, Nevada and Texas and over 550 loan agents and employees. RPM’s loan agents are specially trained to offer FHA, VA and CalSTRS loan programs to their customers. They work with realtors, borrowers, CPA’s, financial planners, attorneys and financial consultants to provide homebuyers with the best financial solutions in the market today.
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Contact: Elise Watkins
Telephone: (925) 295-9321
Email: ewatkins@rpm-mtg.com
