Mortgage brokerage launches in Queen City

A family collaboration has resulted in this month’s opening for the first Springfield location of a national franchise mortgage brokerage.

Brothers Alex and Nick Paulson teamed up to launch a Queen City office for Motto Mortgage, a subsidiary business of Denver, Colorado-based Re/Max Holdings Inc. The 4145 S. McCann Court, Ste. F, office, dubbed Motto Mortgage Community Partners, opened March 1, said Nick Paulson.

He said the brokerage provides numerous loan options for purchasing or refinancing houses. It also can help with reverse mortgages, down payment assistance programs and vacant land purchases.

“If it deals with a house and money, we have a product for it,” Alex said, adding they own the local franchise via Brothers Finance LLC.

Nick said each office of the mortgage brokerage is independently owned, operated and licensed. The new brokerage also marks Motto Mortgage’s first location in southwest Missouri and fourth in the state. Motto Mortgage, which launched in 2016, additionally has Missouri locations in Blue Springs, Herculaneum and St. Louis among its over 220 offices in more than 40 states, according to its website.

“As a broker, we shop the wholesale market so we can determine basically what types of products and who we want to closely work with to provide a better service for our buyers,” Nick said.

Alex Paulson, who also is co-owner of Easy Mountain Cannabis Co. in Republic, said his brother formerly worked in Springfield as a loan officer at mortgage lender Paddio.

“Being an entrepreneur is something my brother wanted to pursue as well,” Alex said, adding Nick also is an Army veteran. “My brother’s the mortgage expert, so he’s the one who’s really got all the mortgage background and the expertise for us to be able to operate one of these businesses. Then I kind of help him with some of the entrepreneurial side of just getting the business set up and kind of what things are important to start where.”

Alex said they already have a staff of three loan officers on board with hopes of doubling that total within the first year. He declined to disclose startup costs or their three-year lease rate for the roughly 2,000-square-foot office with Bradford Park LP.

The local brokerage is licensed to serve the entire state, but Alex said there are no current plans to add offices beyond Springfield.

“We’re pretty focused on our own backyard,” he said. “We’re local here in Springfield and have no problem with just serving our local community.”