Sean Casey
Courtesy Photo
An Atlanta-based mortgage lender is moving into the Reno-Sparks market, where the demand for housing — and mortgages — is higher than ever before.
Angel Oak Home Loans, described as a “full-service retail mortgage lender focused on providing innovative mortgage loan products to borrowers,” recently opened an office at 5470 Kietzke Lane in Reno.
“We are very excited,” Sean Casey, SVP regional sales manager for Angel Oak, said in an email to the NNBW. “It is no secret that Reno and the surrounding areas have been in growth mode the last few years.”
This, Casey said, is why Reno was one of a several markets the company targeted when it began mapping out its expansion plans for the western United States.
Reno-based lending manager Jackie Griffin will run the local office.
“We were fortunate to have the opportunity to bring on Jackie Griffin as our leader in Nevada,” Casey said. “Jackie has served the Reno market her entire career and has had incredible success growing and managing multiple branches.
“We are extremely confident she will have the same success here at Angel Oak Home Loans.”
Currently, Griffin is Angel Oak’s lone local employee, but the company is planning to hire additional staff in the next 30-60 days; Casey said the company expects 10-15 employees to be working out of Reno in the next few years.
Angel Oak’s Northern Nevada expansion doesn’t stop at Reno. Casey said the company recently secured a lease for an office space in Carson City and has hired Sean Kiernan as its branch manager.
“We see this as an attractive market due to the new builder opportunities and product-specific expansion,” Casey said.
Angel Oak says it is in the process of opening branches in Houston, as well as Natchez, Mississippi. The company’s recent expansion comes on the heels of opening offices in Melbourne Beach, Florida, and Washington, D.C. In all, the firm operates 35 retail offices across the U.S. and has plans to open additional branches in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington later this year.
Despite initial challenges presented by the pandemic, Casey said Angel Oak had a record year for revenue in 2020 as demand for housing surged nationwide.
“As for most companies, it was a challenge converting from an office environment to a remote work environment while trying to handle record loan volume,” Casey said. “This also has turned into our biggest opportunity as we have seen efficiency improve with employees able to work from home.”
