My wife, Jennifer, and I have been in the residential real estate lending business since 1986. We have been fortunate to have always worked for well managed and profitable organizations which have emphasized a high level of customer service and a fair price.   In the early 1990's, while on the strategic planning committee of one such nationwide lender, I repeatedly heard the statement that "It is not our goal to have the lowest price in the market". This same mantra was repeated by subsequent employers. While certainly understanding the effect pricing has on the bottom line, I wondered aloud why there was no attempt to at least explore a business model that could provide every customer with the lowest rate AND superior service. The independent mortgage broker model with minimum overhead and personalized attention from knowledgeable and ethical owners seemed to be the the only one that could accomplish both in the real world. It is a fact that mortgage brokers now command 65-70% of the total residential first mortgage market in the the United States. I believe this to be the result of advances in technology that allow for a high level of service from any location, along with simply listening to the obvious first question from any potential customer..."What is your best rate?" Knowing the time demands of self employment from a prior successful stint as proprietor of a CPA practice from 1979-1983 (pre-children), I patiently awaited my younger daughter's driver's license so that I could commit to working whatever odd schedule my customers would dictate. Finally, in February, 2002, I incorporated the K. P. Riley Mortgage Corporation in the state of Indiana. With systems and technology in place and a new history of successful loan closings, Jennifer resigned her position as Loan Officer with a competitor and joined me this fall in pursuing our common vision. Simply stated, it is our goal to offer the best possible service at the the best possible rate. Many people sincerely give lip service to wanting to provide the best possible service. However, let me share an example of our unique commitment to that end. By early July, 2003, it became apparent that the record low rates were jamming pipelines and creating record backlogs industry-wide. We could see in advance that at least temporarily we would be unable to guarantee closings within two weeks. Therefore, we sacrificed the prospects of short term profit by declining over $2,000,000 in various purchase transactions where our ability to meet the customers'preferred time deadlines were questionable. In one case in particular, I had helped design the ideal mortgage product for a first time homebuyer. However, by the time he had negotiated his purchase contract, his apartment lease expiration dictated too restrictive a time schedule for me to guarantee complete satisfaction. Therefore, I referred him to another lender on the realtor's initial recommended lender list who I knew had the ability to close it and fill in the details later. So although he paid a slightly higher rate than we were offering on longer term locks, he closed before the late summer run-up in rates with no penalty from his landlord, and the realtor was able to complete yet another successful sale with a happy customer. At that time, that was the best possible service I knew how to provide.  In keeping our overhead low, we have opted to not offer FHA mortgages at this time. We have fixed and low rate adjustable rate mortgages with minimal down payment requirements. Still, in those cases where the credit scores do not qualify for these programs, we are happy to recommend competitors who offer FHA if this results in the best available terms to the customer. We purposely do not have an advertising budget, and are 100% dependent on referrals from builders, realtors, prior customers and affinity groups for our business. We feel the only way for us to continue our success is to never waver in our integrity and commitment to the best possible service at the best possible price, even if occasionally we can only deliver by referring the transaction to a competitor. Surely, our steadfast commitment will continue to benefit all involved (including us) in the longer term. We offer conforming and Jumbo fixed rates, ARM's, hybrid ARM's, construction-perm loans, lot loans, and 2nd mortgages. We offer our very best every time. Sincerely, Kevin P. Riley  President K. P. Riley Mortgage Corporation e-mail us