IntoHomes expansion leapfrogs the country to Hawaii

"IntoHomes wants to create the Starbucks of the mortgage industry," says Tonya Powell, vice president and director of corporate image for the Reno-based company.

IntoHomes Mortgage Services opened its fourth out-of-state office this month in Hawaii. After raising capital for expansion, the company opened an office in Virginia in January, in Texas in March, and in Minnesota in April. Oregon will follow in a couple months, she says.

The expansion strategy is to acquire existing companies, she says.

"We look for specific like-minded people in order to retain staff and to be able to fold them in."

And all of it is done by word of mouth and personal referrals.

"We believe this industry is broken," says Powell. "We want to make a new model."

So IntoHomes pays sales people salary plus bonus, instead of on commission.

"When a company pays salespeople up to a 100 percent commission, it's difficult to keep the client at the heart of the business," she says.

And, the company gets no funds to keep the doors open.

Going with the ebb and flow is challenge of such a nationwide expansion, she says.

"You have tremendous winds, and then times to pull back."

The expansion strategy involves making the company scalable and consistent, so that a customer has the same experience in Reno or in Tucson, says Powell. But franchising is not in the plan.

IntoHomes was founded in 1999 by Tom Powell, chief executive officer.

The Reno office employs about 40, including administrative staff to support the other locations.