AmeriFirst Home Mortgage moves into 950 Trade Centre Way

For a company where the corporate culture is one of unity, where employees share a sense of being friends and family, being scattered across three buildings just was not working.

AmeriFirst Home Mortgage of Portage decided to bring its staff all together in one office and chose 950 Trade Centre Way, Suite 400 as the place it wanted them to be.

“In the last two years we’ve added more than 150 people to our staff," says AmeriFirst CEO and co-founder David N. Gahm. And the company has found a great talent pool in the Portage and Kalamazoo area.

Much of that growth came despite the lacklustre housing market. The company was able to continue to grow while other financial institutions were closing their doors because the company's leadership made good decisions for both the company and potential homeowners who are its clients, says Dan Moyle, of AmeriFirst Home Mortgage.

As other financial institutions left the market there were opportunities for AmeriFirst to grow. And they were able to help people find financing that met their needs and that they could afford, rather than offer mortgages beyond clients' means that would end in homes going into foreclosure.

The company also grew by servicing its own mortgages rather than selling them to other financial institutions. "We service 98 percent of our home mortgages," Moyle says. "You don't have to chase your mortgage all over the country."

Joe Gesmundo of AVB and Roger Hinman, CEO of the Hinman Company also worked with AmeriFirst Home Mortgage president and co-founder Mark A. Jones, offering their real estate experience so that AmeriFirst could efficiently manage its growth.

With the significant growth,  AmeriFirst began looking for a new home for its corporate headquarters and a branch office that would be located together. The company found what it was looking on the fourth floor of 950 Trade Centre Way. The 22,000-square-foot space--10,000 more than it previously occupied--has plenty of room for the business to grow, says Moyle.

A waiting area for clients, rather than a place to stand in front of the elevator, was part of the plans for the new space. The company also was pleased to have its name on the front of the building, with exposure to I-94.

Roger Hinman, CEO of the Hinman Company, says he is hopeful the move will lead to further job growth.

AmeriFirst Home Mortgage is a community mortgage banker with more than 30 years serving the real estate market. AmeriFirst is licensed in 13 states across the Midwest and southern United States. AmeriFirst Home Mortgage is a division of AmeriFirst Financial.

The Michigan-based Hinman Company, founded in 1977 by Roger E. Hinman, now has a diverse portfolio of office, retail, and residential properties. The company owns and manages more than 3-million square feet of space in the Midwest.

Sources: Dan Moyle, AmeriFirst Home Mortgage; Emma Mitchell, Hinman Company