Northborough Lender Marks First Expansion Beyond New England
Courtesy photo
A mobile home financed by Northborough's Priority Funding is shown here. Priority offers lending services for mobile homes ranging in price from $20,000 to $300,000.
A Northborough company that provides lending services for people who build mobile homes, will expand outside New England, establishing operations in Maryland, Delaware and New York.
Chris Schofield, who founded Priority Funding in 2003, made the decision to grow to the south and west after maximizing the company’s potential in New England. Schofield said Priority Funding has originated about 3,500 loans for its clients, who provide financing on mobile homes built on leased land, and now he sees great potential to grow the business outside the region.
An 'Underserved Niche'
When buyers look to finance mobile or manufactured homes, they don't typically have access to loans from traditional mortgage lenders. Schofield said that's because there’s a stigma attached to mobile homes, so they're often viewed as a risky investment. But Schofield, who has spent his career in the industry, said that assumption is unfounded.
Many mobile home buyers are retirees, looking to split their time between New England and Florida. A mobile home, which Schofield said can cost anywhere between $20,000 and $300,000, provides a low-maintenance option.
“It’s an underserved niche…and it’s just a good business. It’s a good solid investment for the lenders out there,” Schofield said.
With 12 employees, including two new regional managers serving the new territories in New York, Maryland and Delaware, Priority Funding is interested in entering any markets that support financing for manufactured homes, Schofield said. He bases his siting decisions on U.S. Census data, which shows there are more than 200,000 mobile homes in New York state, and about 80,000 in Maryland and Delaware.
These numbers eclipse those found in New England. In Massachusetts, Schofield said there are roughly 24,000, while New Hampshire is home to about 35,000 mobile homes.
Branching out to New York, Maryland and Delaware is part of a larger growth strategy, which began when the company made a key acquisition three years ago.
Planning For The Future
In May 2010, Priority purchased the assets of its primary competitor in New England, Forward National Company. This allowed Priority to bring additional resources and personnel together to gain market share and expand services for its clients. Today, it bills itself as the leading provider of manufactured-home loans to borrowers and lenders throughout New England. And now that it's reached into New York, Maryland and Delaware, Schofield said the company will further broaden its horizons.
“Our goal is to expand over the next five to 10 years into multiple states,” Schofield said. “We'd look anywhere we think there's a need.”
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