Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and home builder Dominion Homes have formalized and named their previously announced new joint venture, Centennial Home Mortgage, which will originate and fund mortgage loans in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, the companies said Tuesday.
Centennial Home Mortgage will provide mortgage origination services, including reviewing applications and pre-qualifying buyers for home loans for Dominion Homes’ customers and the general public, the companies said.
Dominion Homes Financial Services, a subsidiary of Dominion Homes, formerly provided these services. In addition, Centennial Home Mortgage will operate as a mortgage lender with a capital structure that allows it to fund the mortgages it originates, the companies said.
Wells Fargo owns the majority share of the new company, and is responsible for day-to-day operations and regulatory compliance, according to the companies.
Mike Biagi, who has been an assistant vice president and branch manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Central Ohio for the past seven years, has been named managing officer of Centennial Home Mortgage, the companies said.
“Centennial Home Mortgage will provide our customers with the benefits of outstanding mortgage products and services that are competitively priced and offered by a highly respected player in the industry. It will also allow us to concentrate on our core business of selling and building homes,” said William Cornely, chief financial officer of Dominion Homes, in a statement.
Des Moines, Iowa-based Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, is the nation’s No. 1 retail mortgage lender, based on year-end 2005 statistics compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. It has a local presence in more than 2,400 mortgage stores and bank branches, and services loans for approximately 5.7 million customers.
Dominion Homes offers a variety of homes, which are differentiated by size, price, standard features and available options.
