Moses Lake office receives award

Evergreen Home Loans lauded by rural development program

MOSES LAKE - A Moses Lake home loan business recently received appreciation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development.

State Director Jon DeVaney on Friday presented Evergreen Home Loans with a certificate of appreciation in recognition of outstanding guaranteed loan origination exceeding $1.8 million from June 1, 2007, to May 31, 2008.

DeVaney said the business is doing "great things in Moses Lake" using the department's guaranteed single family housing program.

"We wanted to recognize those lender-partners we have at Rural Development who really help first-time home buyers get the kind of loans that are going to make home ownership successful for them," he said. "The news (is) full of stories about people who have gone into home ownership with loans that have, in the end, come back to bite them. Not enough attention has been paid to the good options out there and the good lending practices available. We wanted to recognize an excellent partner who's been using our guaranteed loan program quite a bit this year."

A member of the Moses Lake mortgage industry for more than 20 years, Evergreen Home Loans Branch Manager Larry Shannon said he has been using the department's guaranteed loan program for years.

"Basically, we've done enough of their loans and helped enough people in our area they want to give us recognition for helping," Shannon said. "The loans they offer are for small communities like Moses Lake, not metropolitan areas. It's to help people get into homes with little or literally no money out of their pockets."

The program's credit underwriting can occasionally be more liberal than a conventional loan, Shannon explained, with the understanding somebody in a small town may not normally have the income. Program restrictions limit a home buyer to the amount of income they can make depending upon their family size.

Evergreen Home Loans started using the program more in the past year as the mortgage industry has changed, "almost on a daily basis," Shannon said with a laugh. "USDA has actually stepped up on their guidelines to make it a little easier to fill the niches so more people can get home ownership."

The program helps Shannon's office assist more people to own a home.

"People that didn't think they can get a home, this is just one more way of finding a way to get them into it," he said. "Most people can make the house payment, but the trouble they have is coming up with the money for a down payment. It is a zero down, 100 percent financing, and the seller is allowed to help with closing cost, so literally people are getting in with little or no money out of their pocket."

Loans through the program are fixed-rate loans, Shannon added.

Shannon intends to continue with the program, noting his company has been getting word out to area real estate agents.

"We're actually increasing our use of the program," he said.

Shannon said he was surprised when the department called him to inform him of the award.

"My attitude is it's something I figure everybody would want to use because it is a great tool to help people," he said.