Craig Calentino

Business Background
36 years in residential lending starting in 1987 with World Savings, then Residential First Mortgage from 1989 till 2022, and in late 2022 we merged our company with a larger local mortgage banker, United American Mortgage.

Prior to entering the mortgage industry, I worked at Price Waterhouse as an auditor in the downtown Los Angeles office and earned my C.P.A. license in 1987. This auditing background gives me a unique ability among lenders to document and package a loan file as to assure the quickest and cleanest loan approval possible. In addition, my tax experience enables me to quickly interpret even the most complex tax returns to determine the allowable income that can be used for qualifying. I graduated from the University of Southern California in 1984 with a B.S. in Business Admin./Accounting.

I have personally funded over $1.5 billion in mortgages over the past 36 years including $29 million in 2022, $85 million in 2021, $69 million in 2020, and $30 million in 2019.

My Company
We are a direct lender, closing loans in our name using funds from our bank credit line, then selling them to Citibank, Quicken, Flagstar Bank, PennyMac and Homepoint Financial. We draw loan documents and fund loans right out of my office. This control combined with the fact that we are a small, nimble company gives us the ability to release loan approval contingencies easily in 15 days and close in 30 days or less. We handle conventional, jumbo, subprime, FHA, VA, Reverse, and private money loans. When its beneficial to a buyer, we will broker a loan to a lender instead of funding it in-house (we fund about 90% of our loans in-house and broker about 10%).

Business Philosophy
The mortgage industry continues to evolve. The latest development is large lenders’ extensive use of technology to get loans through the system instead of people. This makes for a very impersonal experience with no advice or guidance, and many times terribly confusing. A mortgage transaction is a very complicated one and is best executed when there is a knowledgeable and experienced guide involved. This is exactly what I pride myself on. I spend a lot of time with every client explaining all the steps in the loan application, approval, and closing processes. I may work with a client for over a year before they buy a home, and that’s fine. Sometimes it takes a while to get a buyer in a position to be approvable at a lender. I also do not employ “banker’s hours”. I am normally available after hours and on weekends since a true advisor must be available to the client and real estate agent when needed.

Purchasing or refinancing a property is one of the most important financial events in a person’s life and should be handled as such. Borrowers are often expected to sign forms and pay costs that they do not understand. That is terrible service. They deserve honest and open communication, attention to detail, timeliness, and when necessary, true consulting and guidance. My clients receive all of these and that is why my business is 100% referral-based from real estate agents, accountants, bankers, financial advisors, and most importantly, existing clients,

I look forward to working with you.