Champions Funding LLC, based in Gilbert, Ariz., said it has joined the non-qualified mortgage marketplace to provide brokers a wider variety of wholesale loan products catered to their diverse customers who have non-traditional credit profiles, and usually have trouble getting approved with standard financing. These Non-QM products are especially helpful to the nation’s most distressed communities, it said.
Lenders and banks across the industry face or will soon face a declining rate of mortgage applications, which means limited access to financing options for a subset of borrowers. Meanwhile, the demand for alternative loan options is booming.
Champions Funding's flagship products allow the broker community to tap into a $1 trillion market and serve historically underserved communities across the nation, it said. The mortgage lender is only one of the few that holds a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) designation by the U.S. Department of Treasury for generating economic growth in underserved communities.
Led by Champions Funding’s CEO Evan M. Stone and board Chairwoman Patty Arvielo, CEO of New American Funding, the industry leaders built a team of mortgage professionals to stimulate more opportunity in today’s mortgage market, Champions Funding said.
Stone said he encourages the team to respond quickly to the market and provide the best-in-class service through supportive account executive partners. Stone also serves as chairman of the newly acquired Community Savings bank, and is co-owner and partner for Rep1 Sports agency, which represents the top names in the NFL, MLB, and NBA — including Super Bowl LVI MVP Cooper Kupp.
“You don't name your company Champions to come in second place,” Stone said. “We are thrilled to bring together a team of highly motivated, smart mortgage professionals to offer a unique opportunity for diverse homebuyers to realize the dreams of homeownership with a solutions-driven and responsible approach to lending. We are poised to execute our mission of serving the historically underserved markets.”
Arvielo is co-founder and CEO of New American Funding — the single largest Latina-owned independent mortgage lender in the nation — where she advocates for the mortgage industry through lobbying efforts on behalf of homeowners. Arvielo has a long career history of supporting Latinos and Blacks to achieve homeownership, and is now working to bring awareness of these opportunities to brokers who service underserved communities, Champions said.
