Flat Branch HOM E LOA NS Who We Are
Who We Are
How We Started
Flat Branch Home Loans began in 2005 in Columbia, Missouri. We have experienced tremendous success throughout the state by following through on commitments and closing on time, every time.
continual internal improvement. The management team works every day to further improve the customer experience and maintain a strong relationship between operations and sales.
Flat Branch was founded by company President, Jim Yankee. At our onset, Jim originated and processed every loan the company produced. As of 2014, Flat Branch Home Loans employed 93 people in fourteen offices throughout the state. Jim is still actively involved in building Flat Branch and prides himself on being always accessible and ready to help.
In 2014, Flat Branch accomplished the goal of securing agency approval to sell directly to Fannie, Freddie, and Ginnie. This will allow us to maintain servicing on 100% of the loans we originate. We feel this is an important step toward improving our customer’s relationship with Flat Branch. Additionally, the reduced guideline overlays and streamlined process helps its LO’s compete within their market.
Despite being the largest secondary market lender in Central Missouri, Flat Branch has maintained a family atmosphere and commitment to excellence. We believe in hiring only the very best people and giving them the tools and support they need to succeed. It is these core principles that allow Flat Branch to thrive and grow in a difficult lending environment.
How We’ve Grown
Flat Branch Home Loans has grown consistently each and every year, regardless of the interest rate environment and real estate market trends. Our team accomplishes its development of steady, consistent growth through an unending focus on
The Flat Branch Family
What makes Flat Branch unique is the truly friendly and helpful atmosphere. Our team members aren’t just coworkers, they are friends. A Loan Originator is never alone; every single “Flat Brancher” from Underwriters to Managers is there to help him or her succeed. Flat Branch Home Loans is not a stuffy bank and it is not a big corporation. We’re a relatively small company focused on doing things right and being the absolute best at what we do. Our people have fun, relax, and can be themselves. Happy hours and bar-b-ques are not an uncommon occurrence.
Benefits
Fast Facts
Flat Branch Home Loans offers all full-time employees and their dependents health insurance through GBS and HealthLink. We pay 75% of the employee’s premium and 25% for dependents. Dental and vision insurance is also available through our comprehensive plan.
Ranked #321 Fastest Growing Company in the United States by Inc. Magazine in 2011 Consistently Recognized by Agencies and Investors for High Production and File Quality Mortgage Banker with FHA Full Eagle, VA Automatic, USDA, and MHDC Delegation
Flat Branch understands the importance of saving for retirement. In 2013, we launched a 401k with 5% company match on contributions.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Ginnie Mae Issuer (Spring 2014)
Support
All Loans Underwritten and Processed InHouse, Locally
Because of our high standards, attention to quality, and aggressive commissions, Flat Branch has been able to recruit and retain the best LO’s in Central Missouri and the newer markets we serve. All high producing LO’s have one thing in common; they need a strong support team to ensure their production receives the attention it deserves.
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Flat Organizational Structure – Everyone in the company is always accessible and ready to help. From Underwriters to Processors and upper management, Flat Branch LO’s have unparalleled access to everyone at all times. In-House Technical Support: 8am to 10pm – Flat Branch people work long hours and need tech support at all hours of the day. This includes help with company provided laptops, personal cell phones, online portals, and LOS systems. Rush Closing Abilities – Because Flat Branch handles all aspects of the loan process in house, we can rush files when needed. The system is setup to help Loan Originators build their business and impress their borrowers and Realtor partners.
Join Our Family
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Jeff City
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St. Louis
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St. Robert
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Joplin
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Springfield
Locations Flat Branch is focused on serving Missouri and has locations throughout the state. We believe in staying local and being actively involved in the communities we serves.
If you feel like the environment at Flat Branch is a fit for you and your business, please continue the conversation. Most people look back at their decision to join Flat Branch as the smartest business decision they have ever made. It’s an environment where great people come to grow their business and enjoy their career again.
Columbia Business Times
Flat Branch Home Loans bags Inc. Magazine's Hire Power Award
AMIDST THE 2009 mortgage meltdown, Flat Branch Home Loans expanded its 4-year-old business into a full-service mortgage banker. Then, like our waistbands at Thanksgiving dinner, the company continued to expand. Due to its rapid growth, Inc. Magazine ranked it No. 3 in the state of Missouri for its incredible addition of employees and awarded the business the 2013 Hire Power Award. “It’s always good to get awards and recognition, but it really is just a testament to our people and how well we’ve done,” says owner, Jim Yankee. Yankee, who is responsible for the recruitment of new hires, has his work cut out for him. In the past 18 months, Flat Branch Home Loans has gone from 20 people to nearly 90, almost tripling its number of employees.Interior-Sidebar “The reason we get these people is because we’re so good at closing loans, because we’re so good at what we do,” Yankee says. “I’m lucky enough to have a great team behind me. When I tell somebody that coming to Flat Branch will help them, their career and their families, we back it up because they’re so awesome.”
The company anchors its name in several cities across the state; it stretches as far west as Springfield and touches the eastern border in St. Louis. In addition, it offers a wide variety of mortgage services. “A lot of people we hire in Columbia are support staff for those outlying offices,” Yankee says, “so it’s been a good thing for Columbia because we’re hiring local people to support other areas of the state.”
Timeline 2005
Flat Branch opens its doors for business in downtown Columbia.
2007
Flat Branch opens its first staellite office near Fort Leonard Wood.
2008
The mortgage industry melts down, beginning with the Lehman Brothers collapse.
2009
Flat Branch transitions to a full-service mortgage banker, incorporating local, inhouse underwriting and processing.
2011
Ranked by Inc. Magazine as the 321st fastest-growing private business in the United States
2012
Becomes No. 1 purchase mortgage lender in Columbia, per government statistics
2013
Opens 15th Missouri branch office in Joplin
2013
Ranked by Inc. Magazine as third fastestgrowing business in Missouri
2014
Flat Branch will open a servicing center to collect payments and service loans locally
Grow into the future Despite the drizzly post-recession outcome for the mortgage industry, Flat Branch has remained strong by
focusing all its efforts on the people it serves. The business supplies FHA, USDA and VA loans and works with first-time buyers and families refinancing their homes. “People always have to have a place to live, and they’re generally going to have a loan on that house,” Yankee says. “So at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what happens to the market as long as you’re working hard and doing everything for your customers.” Homebuyers can apply for a loan online, over the phone or in person at the Flat Branch office on Fifth Street. Within a matter of minutes, customers will be pre-approved for a loan, and the hunt for a new home can begin. Flat Branch does everything in its power to ensure a pleasant experience finding or refinancing a home, which greatly contributes to its growing staff and spreading reputation. However, the company will soon see even more growth. A Flat Brach servicing department has been in the works for nearly two years, and in January, Yankee plans to launch it. “We’re going to start servicing our own loans this coming year, so that should be even more jobs going forward to help ongoing service nationwide,” he says. “It’s huge from a customer service standpoint that we can be there for them throughout the 30 years of their loan. It just helps us serve our customers better, and it will help us continue to grow into the future.” CBT January 01, 2014 by Kelsey Gillespy
401 K Plan Benefit Eligibility Employee Elective Deferrals & Employer Match: 3 months of service.
Employee Contributions Eligible Employees can contribute between 0% and 100% or a flat dollar amount of their compensation. A Maximum contribution of $17,500 is allowed by the IRS for the year 2013. Catch Up maximum contribution of $5,500 employees age 50 or older.
Matching Contributions Plan will match based on the following formula: 5% of employee’s contribution.
Rollover Contributions Rollover are allowed from former qualified plans into this plan. New participants must meet eligibility requirements before a rollover will be accepted.
Source of Contributions Money for contributions can be deducted from your paycheck as Elective Deferrals (pre-tax) or Roth 401k (after tax).
Distributions Full payment only after age 59.5 or terminated of employment. Upon normal retirement at age 65 or at death or total disability.
Vesting All contributions are 100% vested. The Summary Plan Description has more details about your plan. The above information cannot change the terms or conditions of the plan. If there is a discrepancy between the Summary Plan Description, this Plan Highlights and/or the Plan document, the Plan Document governs.
COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE Saturday, May 4, 2013
Flat Branch Mortgage aims to expand its reach beyond the local market When Jim Yankee co-founded Flat Branch Mortgage in 2005, his goal was simple: close 100 home loans in a month. “It seemed like this big, unobtainable goal,” he said. Not anymore. Now known as Flat Branch Home Loans, the company has been shooting for 200 loans a
mortgage market. In 2011, it made more loans for single-family homes than any other lender in Columbia, approving 373 local mortgages, according to the most recent numbers available through the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act database. While comparable numbers
Jim Yankee, Flat Branch Home Loans President, with his wife, Jesse.
month for a while now. In April, it came the closest yet, making 168 loans. With the housing market on its strongest footing in years and the spring buying season in full swing, Yankee is bullish about the future. “We should be able to break that again in May,” he said. Things are moving fast for the local mortgage lender. In just a few years, it has quickly become a dominant player in the local
by Jacob Barker
Yankee and his team have turned their sights to Missouri’s big metropolitan areas to fuel the company’s future growth. It already has a presence in smaller Missouri markets such as Jefferson City, Marshall and Fort Leonard Wood. It has been growing in Springfield, and it is in the process of opening a larger office in St. Louis. Yankee is working on breaking into the Kansas City market right now, scouting out a loan officer with enough local contacts to build a regional office around. Although the company started at the worst time for the industry in decades, Flat Branch turned the tumult into opportunity, surviving as competitors folded and picking off their best employees. It was an early adopter of governmentbacked loan programs, which skyrocketed in use as other mortgage products disappeared. But Yankee said the firm’s success is because its employees follow three rules: “We close on time, we close on time, we close on time.” (...)
aren’t yet available for 2012, Yankee said Flat Branch Home Loans made $211 million in loans last year. It added 20 employees in 2012, and this year it already has added 16 employees, bringing its total to 73, according to numbers provided by the company. “We have a pretty substantial foothold with the number of loan officers and sales that we have in To read more about Flat Branch this area,” said Flat Branch CEO Home Loans’ expansion history, Kimberly Lodge. please visit http://goo.gl/CrxFW8.
Health Insurance Per-Check Premiums (24 cycle per year) Employee Only
Employee + Children
Employee + Spouse
Employee + Family
Economy Plan
$41.25
$98.75
$115.00
$187.50
Standard Plan
$53.75
$132.50
$156.25
$243.75
Add: Dental
$14.41
$27.39
$29.57
$46.90
Vision
$5.07
$8.28
$10.45
$12.62
HealthLink Open Access II - PPO Economy Plan
Standard Plan
Primary Care Physician Copay
Deductible and Coinsurance
$25
Specialist Copay
Deductible and Coinsurance
$25
Surgery and Accidental Medical Expenses
Deductible and Coinsurance
Deductible and Coinsurance
Maternity
Deductible and Coinsurance
Deductible and Coinsurance
Wellness and Preventative
Covered at 100%
Covered at 100%
Urgent Care Copay
Deductible and Coinsurance
$50
Emergency Room Copay
Deductible and Coinsurance
$100
Prescription Drugs (Generic/Preferred)
Deductible and Coinsurance
$8/$35
Individual Deductible (In-Network)
$2,500 (2 per family)
$1,500 (2 per family)
Individual Out of Pocket Max (In-Network)
$3,000 (2 per family)
$2,000 (2 per family)
* All employees who participate in a medical plan will receive basic life insurance of $20,000 and Long Term Disability. * Short Term Disability, Dependent Life and Additional Voluntary Life Plans are available. * Gap Insurance is available for Medicare eligible Employees.
Flat Branch HOM E LOA NS www.flatbranchhomeloans.com
101 S. 5th Street, Suite 200
Columbia, MO 65201
(573) 442-3850