Two Maryland-based retail mortgage lenders struck an M&A deal this week as NFM Lending has agreed to acquire Homespire Mortgage, the companies confirmed on Friday. The financial terms were not disclosed.
With the acquisition, Linthicum-based NFM will expand its presence along the East Coast, while Homespire will gain access to new growth opportunities amid a challenging market for smaller mortgage lenders.
Founded in 1998 by David Silverman, NFM originated about $7.15 billion in mortgages over the past 12 months — primarily in Florida, Maryland and Ohio — according to RETR data. As of Friday, the company had about 480 producing loan officers across 96 branches, the data shows.
NFM Lending president and chief operating officer Bob Tyson told HousingWire that the transaction allows NFM to expand its “reach and resources,” since Homespire is “a great smaller organization.”
“They get access to all the bells and whistles of a larger organization — products, technology — we are able to provide for them,” Tyson said.
Homespire is led by president Michael Rappaport. Per RETR, it has 42 producing LOs across 10 branches and originated about $490 million over the past year, with more than half of that volume tied to conventional loans.
Most of its business comes from Maryland, Virginia and Florida, giving NFM deeper exposure along the East Coast and adding an experienced management team.
“The deal is about synergies. They’re also local, Michael has an excellent reputation and we welcome his leadership here,” Greg Sher, managing director at NFM, said in an interview. “One of the things we look forward to the most, every time we do a deal, is to dig into their processes and extract nuggets to make NFM better.”
Homespire, headquartered in Gaithersburg, will operate as a division of NFM under the name Homespire Home Loans and will continue to be led by Rappaport.
NFM extended job offers to Homespire’s loan officers, processors, underwriters and closers, among other professionals, according to Tyson. Like other brands under the NFM umbrella — including Main Street Home Loans, Bluprint Home Loans, Elevate Home Loans and Element Home Loans — Homespire will operate its own team.
“As the mortgage industry evolves, Homespire must continue evolving with it,” Rappaport said in a written statement. “This strategic partnership is a powerful step forward — one that strengthens what we’ve built, enhances our capabilities, and positions us to deliver even greater value to our clients while staying true to who we are.”
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