Movement serves record number of families
Movement Mortgage, a top 10 national retail mortgage lender, served more families and closed more loans in April 2020 than in any single month of its 12-year history as a company.
More than 9,500 families trusted Movement Mortgage with their home purchases and refinances last month. That means more than 9,500 families either enhanced their future by investing in home ownership, or they saved money on their current home loan expenses. During this time of crisis, Movement teammates worked tirelessly to ensure these families were put in the best possible position moving forward.
To that end, Movement also hired more than 100 new teammates over the last six weeks to process this record number of loans. Many of these teammates were hired, without mortgage experience, and given paid, on-the-job training to bring them up to speed quickly at such an important time.
“As excited as we get about celebrating great numbers, we are always more excited about the names behind those numbers,” says CEO Casey Crawford. “The only reason we celebrate those numbers is because they're attached to a name, and a name is attached to a person that God created with intention and purpose that we are here to love and serve and value.”
Due to this incredible effort, Movement Mortgage recorded an eye-popping $2.7 billion in loan volume in April 2020. That is nearly $1 billion more than the previous best month ever–which was $1.865 billion in March 2020. But a record month for Movement means more than just mortgages. By moving people into homes through purchases, or moving them into a better financial position through a refinance, Movement is able to turn profit into support for communities.
Dividends from Movement's loan origination are paid to the Movement Foundation. Since its inception in 2012, the Movement Foundation has donated more than $60 million to communities across the United States and around the world. Recently, the Foundation gave $22 million to Movement Schools. That money helps build new facilities at Movement School Freedom Drive and helps finish buildout of the brand new Movement School Eastland location, slated to open Fall 2020.
The record profit and number of families served inspired Movement CEO Casey Crawford to take Movement's servant leadership a step further. In April, Crawford announced that Movement would retain servicing of loans for its clients. By doing this, Movement decreased FICO score minimums, and other loan requirements, in order to keep mortgages accessible for Americans. It also allows customers to keep the relationship they've built with their loan officer going through the life of their loan.
“When we wake up and recognize that we are doing this not for the number but for the name of the borrower whose family is enjoying their first home together, a home that's going to be a place they can come together and strengthen and love each other for decades to come, that's the why,” says Crawford.
“When we are able to lower their cost of homeownership so they can free up just a little more margin, that's the why. When we are doing it to make a profit so that we can take that profit and invest it to love the most marginalized names, and kids and people in the communities we are a part of, that gives it purpose. That gives the fight a reason. It's not a number we're shooting for and it's not a number we celebrate, it's a name and a person.”
