Even before moving into its new headquarters in Brea, a startup subprime lender nearly has doubled its lease to 130,000 square feet.
The move shows that the real estate boom hasn’t sputtered yet, at least for some specialty mortgage lenders who account for many of the biggest lease deals and are driving new office construction in Orange County.
In fall, Residential Mortgage Assistance Enterprise LLC said it planned to lease 80,000 square feet of a five-story building under construction in Brea by Olen Properties Corp. of Newport Beach.
Now the lender said it exercised its option to take the entire building at 6 Pointe Drive earlier this year.
“Our loan volumes are approaching $600 million a month,” said Edward Resendez, co-chief executive of the lender, which goes by ResMae Mortgage Corp.
Subprime lenders make loans to borrowers with imperfect credit. They have been buoyed by a strong housing market. As home prices rise, some owners are swapping their credit card debt for a second mortgage at a lower interest rate.
For more on this story, see the April 25 edition of the Orange County Business Journal.
