Movement Mortgage eyeing Central Pa. for next phase of growth

Movement Mortgage LLC, a full-service privately held national mortgage bank based in Virginia, has signed a lease that begins Oct. 1 for an office at 3813 Market St. in Hampden Township.

The branch is the first of several that the company — known for its seven-day processing program — plans to open in the midstate, said Ryan Scott, the market leader for this region.

Lancaster, Hershey and York are all possibilities, he said. “We have a lot of targets. My goal over the next 12 months is to become a very impactful player.”

Movement is co-owned by former Carolina Panthers player Casey Crawford. It started at the height of the last financial crisis in 2008, with four employees in Virginia Beach. 

Today the company, which is building a new headquarters in South Carolina, has more than 2,200 employees with more than 350 locations across 40 states, according to its website.

The company’s stated goal is to serve 10 percent of homebuyers in the country by 2025. More than 70 percent of its loans are processed in seven business days and there is a six-hour upfront underwriting goal.

Mark O’Shea, a senior loan officer who will oversee the Cumberland County office, said the first office could staff up to 10 employees, mostly loan officers. He’s confident recruiting will go well because of the company’s quick-service, agent-centric model. 

The company’s goal is to be among the preferred mortgage service firms in multiple brokers’ offices, he said. “We know Realtors use more than one lender.”

Relying on their networks as former mortgage specialists with regional financial institutions and mortgage lenders, O’Shea and Scott are working to make those local connections.

Once Scott is able to build out Central Pennsylvania, his next focus will be adding branches in the northern part of the state, he said. “I think we’re going to blow people’s minds as we grow here.”

Movement closed about $6 billion in mortgages last year, said Mike Brennan, the company’s Northeast regional sales director. The company could hit $9 billion or $10 billion this year.