imortgage Opens Sarasota Branch

SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- imortgage, one of the nation's top-five national nonbank retail mortgage lenders and a division of loanDepot LLC, today announced the Sarasota imortgage location is officially open. Matt McCain, imortgage's area-branch manager in Southwest Florida, and his team are helping local borrowers in the Sarasota area to finance their home purchases. This is the third of three new branch locations to open in the Southwest Florida in the past five months.

As a result, real estate professionals in the area will have immediate access to a full suite of competitively priced mortgage solutions including loan generation, customization, as well as local processing and underwriting to better serve the needs of Sarasota's local homebuyers.

McCain is currently building a roster of licensed loan consultants including Sales Manager Phil Thompson, Loan Officer Mike Klein and Loan Specialist Jamie Rose.

"As a strong first-time home buyer lender, imortgage is looking to recruit experienced local loan consultants to help us prepare Sarasota home buyers with low down payment lending options as they enter the housing market," McCain said. "Sarasota is our third branch opening in less than six months in Southwest Florida.  We're expanding at a swift pace and committed to handpicking loan consultants who understand our community and are working with area buyers and real estate professionals."

The Sarasota housing market is one that imortgage has been monitoring closely in recent months. McCain explained imortgage's optimism about Sarasota-area trends made this the right time to expand in the area.

Sarasota's cost of living is 3.8 percent lower than the national average based on 100.[1] The median home price per square foot in Sarasota, FL is approximately $135, 4 percent higher compared to the same period last year.[2] The median list price for homes in Sarasota is $355,000, a 9 percent increase from last year.[3] The unemployment rate in Sarasota is 5 percent, which is lower than the national rate of 6.3 percent.[4]

"As our local economy and housing market improves, imortgage is ready to support the lending needs of our local real estate partners and their clients," said Phil Thompson, imortgage sales manager. "We're looking forward to getting involved and becoming a valued member of the community."

ABOUT IMORTGAGE 
imortgage is a leading private nonbank national retail mortgage lender based in Scottsdale, AZ. Established in 1999, imortgage operates 85+ local branch offices throughout the United States and is one of the fastest-growing, most well-respected retail lenders in the country today. imortgage delivers a service-driven, customer-focused home loan purchase experience which has earned the company the exclusive Eliant Certification for Customer Service Excellence. imortgage is a loanDepot LLC brand operating under NMLS# 174457. Learn more about imortgage at imortgage.com or by calling a local branch at (941) 684-4400.

ABOUT LOANDEPOT LLC
Launched in 2010, loanDepot LLC, the leading national nonbank retail lender in the country with retail, consumer direct, wholesale, affinity and servicing operations. loanDepot LLC operates under the brand names of loanDepot.com, imortgage and LDWholesale, and maintains dual corporate headquarters in Foothill Ranch, CA and Plano, TX. loanDepot LLC is licensed in all 50 states, generates loan production from four web centers, employs 3,000 people that includes 900 licensed mortgage bankers, and operates 85+ imortgage branch locations across the nation. loanDepot is an approved seller and servicer for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. loanDepot.com, LLC, NMLS # 174457 Learn more at loanDepot.com.

[1] http://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/city/florida/sarasota
[2] http://www.movoto.com/sarasota-fl/market-trends/#city=&time=1Y&metric=Median%20%24%2Fsqft&type=0
[3] http://www.movoto.com/sarasota-fl/market-trends/
[4] http://www.bestplaces.net/city/florida/sarasota

SOURCE loanDepot, LLC