Daily Record Financial News &
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 113 • Two Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Nonbanks grabbing up mortgages Five new lenders in area since fall
By Carole Hawkins Staff Writer The mortgage meltdown saw banks pull back on home lending. And ever since Dodd-Frank regulations hit, real estate has been abuzz over how tightened lending standards have slowed housing’s recovery. But in Jacksonville’s metro area, a handful of new lenders are looking to compete for buyers’ home-loan business. Five new mortgage companies came on the scene in rapid-fire
INSIDE: A look at the five new nonbanks. Page A-2
succession starting in October. Is it because of Florida’s resurgent housing market? Niche products or better services that organically led to growth? A sign of national mortgage companies’ great connections to local talent? The new companies say yes to all of the above.
But another reason — a common thread that ties them together — each is a nonbank lender. And Jacksonville isn’t the only place where it’s happening. In 2008, banks originated 72 percent of the nation’s home loans by dollar volume, according to information provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act database. By 2013, the banks’ market share had dropped down to 59 percent. Nonbanks... Continued on Page A-2
Alternative choices for home loans Nationally, nonbank lenders grew their market share of home loans by 13 percent from 2008 to 2013. Banks’ market share dropped an equal percentage over the same period.
IMB 36%
Credit union 5% Source: Mortgage Bankers Association
Cologix applies for $6.6M upgrade
Photo by Carole Hawkins
Christina Parrish, new executive director of Springfield Preservation and Revitalization, says one of the neighborhood’s best opportunities lies in residential real estate. Parrish, a real estate lawyer and investor, purchased and renovated this duplex just up the street from her own home. See her workspace on Page A-7.
Andy Eccher says customizing a vehicle is akin to wearing jewelry. It’s all about personal taste and fashion, he says. “Many people use their vehicles as a way to express themselves — as a way to ‘make it mine,’ which is a tagline we’ve used before,” said Eccher, Southeast Toyota Distributors’ distribution and accessory sales vice president. For new Toyotas sold in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas, customization is performed at a processing and distribution center on Pritchard Road in Westlake Industrial Park. Eccher led a media tour there Tuesday.
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Photo by Kevin Hogencamp
Inside Toyota’s Jacksonville ‘think tank’ “Accessorization is the avenue for making the vehicle ‘mine,’” Eccher said. Eccher directed the Westlake facility when it opened about 12 years ago. He now is based in Deerfield Beach. A significant share of his job is to work with Toyota dealerships in the Southeast to sell as many bells and whistles as possible; the more accessories, the higher the profits. Sometimes, that’s easy, because some consumers know precisely what they want; sometimes, it isn’t — often because of lack of knowledge, Eccher said. “It’s all about awareness,” he said. When giving presentations to dealerships, Eccher’s key message is that accessorizing vehicles correlates with customer satisfaction and, thus, enables vehicles to
Bank 59%
Bank 72%
Credit union 5%
A new champion for Springfield neighborhood
By Kevin Hogencamp Contributing Writer
2013
2008 IMB 23%
Andy Eccher, Southeast Toyota Distributors’ distribution and accessory sales vice president.
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As part of a $20 million investment in Jacksonville, the Cologix data center company is preparing to launch a $6.6 million power upgrade to its Southside facility along Spring Park Road. “It reflects that Jacksonville is experiencing a growth in its importance on the overall map of the Internet,” said Graham Williams, COO of Denver-based Cologix. Cologix is a network-neutral interconnection and data center company. It came to the Jacksonville market by acquiring Jax Meet Me Room, a carrier hotel Downtown at 421 W. Church St. Williams said the Downtown Cologix Jax 1 upgrade should be completed soon. It will add utility capacity and square footage for networks and content providers who want to connect with the two new subsea cable systems landing in Jacksonville from Central and South America. Cologix acquired the 4800 Spring Park Road facility when it bought the Colo5 colocation and disaster recovery provider in September. That center is a little more than 120,000 square feet in size and also is a hurricane-rated data center. “The combination creates something that we think is pretty compelling,” Williams said. Plans show Perry-McCall Construction Inc. will handle the upgrades for the Cologix Jax II facility. Williams said the Downtown project began four to five months ago and should be ready within two months. At the same time, it is kicking off the Spring Road project. That should take five to six months, he said. The Spring Park Road facility is a live data center. “We are bringing in more power so we can serve more customers,” he said.
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