Pontiac-based United Shore to hire 1,500 more despite pandemic, recession
A Pontiac-based mortgage firm is preparing to hire 1,500 new employees this spring and summer, even as businesses across Michigan have been laying off workers in droves amid the pandemic-caused recession.
Fast-growing United Shore Financial Services announced Thursday that it plans to fill the new positions over the next 90 days, adding to its existing 5,800 headcount.
The employees will eventually work at the firm’s newly expanded Pontiac campus. Since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, most United Shore employees have been working from home.
United Shore President and CEO Mat Ishbia said in a phone interview that his business is doing great despite the struggling economy, largely because of exceptionally low mortgage rates that are spurring refinancings and home purchases.
United Shore says it is offering 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages with rates as low as 2.5% to customers through Findamortgagebroker.com
“Some people said you could never go below 3% on a 30-year fixed,” he said. So pretty much anyone who has ever done a mortgage more than three to six months ago should be refinancing, he said.
United Shore announced in early April that it wouldn’t need to do any layoffs during the economic downturn. The company intended to hire a large group of employees later in the year, but Ishbia said they decided to shift plans and move up the hiring because so many are out of work.
Michigan’s unemployment rate topped 22% in April.
“There’s a lot of people that are hurting in the state of Michigan and we decided let’s hire now, ” Ishbia said.
United Shore’s primary business is wholesale mortgage lending, which is borrowing money to underwrite the loans of mortgage brokers. Mortgage industry publications rank the company No. 1 nationwide in that category.
United Shore will be hiring for entry-level, mid-level and some high-level positions in areas including technology, sales, operations and underwriting. Application information is posted on the company’s website at UnitedShore.com.
“We’re looking for applicants right away,” Ishbia said, “We train everybody, so you don’t need to have 20 years of mortgage experience to work here. You need to have the right work ethic and attitude.”
United Shore has begun construction work for a pedestrian bridge that will connect its two Pontiac campus buildings by crossing South Boulevard. The $20 million project was delayed a couple months by the pandemic and the construction industry shutdown and should be done before year’s end, Ishbia said.
The company has said the planned 1,000-foot-long enclosed pedestrian bridge will be the longest enclosed pedestrian bridge in the U.S. It will be heated and air conditioned have moving walkways.
“Probably by next month or July, you will start to physically see some of the structure up,” he said.
Posted By: Detroit Free Press on May 27, 2020. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
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