Envision Lending Group Inc. - Agency, FHA/VA, Alt-A, Subprime

Update - 2009-10-29: A major geographic contraction and hundreds of layoffs first brought our attention to Envision Lending Group at the end of 2008. That was preceded by the involuntary revocation of their licensing in Illinois which, although appealed and eventually reinstated, was ultimately allowed to lapse and became inactive on 2009-08-10. It seems now that the company, which still reports nine offices and over 1,100 loan officers on its web site (view snapshot), is folding the rest of its operations. We received a copy of a 2009-10-27 memo sent out by Amy Anderson, President of Envision Lending Group, announcing that the company was being "merged to" another company. We have been told it's "the people... not the company" who will be moving:

"We know that there have been many rumors for many months about Envision Lending Group and we appreciate all of your patience as we have been trying since May of this last year to put together an alliance with either a correspondent lender or a bank, knowing the broker world will change dramatically on January 1, 2010. We have just recently secured the alliance we were hoping for and we are now ready to announce the details: Envision Lending Group, Inc. will be merging to Essex Mortgage based out of Orange, California."

Based on the wording of the memo, it appears the executive team will not be part of the shift and will remain with their staff at the company's current main office located in Jordan, UT to head up a "new non-mortgage related company" referred to elsewhere in the memo. Envision Lending Group's offices in Orem, UT and Las Vegas, NV (and their respective staffs) will join Essex Mortgage according to Anderson's letter. A fourth office in Salt Lake City, UT will reportedly remain open up until its lease expiration at the end of the year.

There is no mention regarding the disposition of five other offices currently listed on their web site (view snapshot). Of those, we were able to confirm the Stroudsburgh, PA office was being shut down. Phones for the Goodlettsville, TN office have been disconnected.

An exact date for the end of Envision Lending Group's operation was not given. In the memo Anderson tells loan officers they were "welcome to start using" Essex, but stated access to company email and the web site would continue for "at least 90 days." Anderson did not return our calls or email seeking further comment with regard to the memo.

Original Ailing Listing - 2008-12-16: Envision President Amy Anderson confirmed that they "have filed a petition for a hearing with Illinois."

"If you go to the state's website you will see that our license is active and has a pending hearing. As we have stated before we are not closing our doors, we are simply downsizing which is the smart thing in this market.

Our attorney's have asked us not to release any information beyond this since we are building our case."

The State's web site now displays Envision's licensing status as "ACTIVE -- REVOCATION - UNDER APPEAL."

Original Ailing Post - 2008-12-02: In what one LO described as a "sudden, surprise move," Envision Lending Group Inc. President Amy Anderson sent out a memo today announcing they would not renew licensing in 20 states where they were due to expire December 31, 2008.

"We have decided that to ensure further control we have to make this difficult decision. We will only remain licensed in these states for the next 30 days and then we will not allow any further loans to close in these states nor we will also not be able to continue employment for loan officers who live in these states."

In addition to an unknown number of home-based originators, six offices are affected based on the states listed. These include Birmingham, AL, Honolulu, HI, Idaho Falls, ID, Baltimore, MD, Raleigh, NC, and Goodlettsville, TN. According to their web site, Envision had 1,800 loan officers and was doing business in 47 states. Headquartered in South Jordan, UT, the company lists seven additional offices in states unaffected by the announcement.

Envision Lending Group Inc. was one of two firms whose licensing was revoked by the State of Illinois along with two loan originators resulting from a state investigation that began in October 2008. Appraiser Peter Petrovich and an unlicensed real estate broker, LMB Properties LLC, were formally charged in connection with an alleged fraud scheme as reported in the Chicago Tribune last week. The Order Revoking License focused on former Envision employee Arthur Pascu who "operated as a branch manager for Envision from an unlicensed branch office in his home." Envision has 10 days to respond.

We spoke briefly with President Amy Anderson, who indicated they intend to respond to Illinois but declined to elaborate any further. Asked how many staff were being let go due to the non-renewals, she answered "about 400."

Please contact us if you can provide additional information.