SUMMIT FUNDING Chico’s Preferred Lending Team
BY AVEED KHAKI PHOTOS ERIN WENHAM
B
orn and raised in Orange
to over 1,000 employees in 40 of-
County,
found
fices throughout 20 states. Summit
his way out of Southern Cal-
Funding is set to close over $3 bil-
ifornia — like so many of our
lion in home loans this year.
Chris
Kobz
transplants did — to attend univer-
Although Chris owns and manag-
sity at Chico State. He majored in
es the office, he still works full time
communication
graduated
as a loan officer, and is even more
in 1999, and decided to follow Me-
design,
determined to make the process of
gan, his college sweetheart, to San
obtaining a home loan easier and
Francisco.
more efficient than ever before. By
Chris worked for a couple dif-
focusing solely on residential home
ferent sales firms in the legal and
loans and utilizing his own team of
recruiting industry throughout the
six (including two other loan offi-
Bay Area while with Megan, and
cers and four support staff ), Chris
when they finally decided to get
is able to provide his clients with
married, they both happened to
unparalleled
throw Chico into the mix of places
of his team’s specialists at each
they’d like to raise a family.
stage of the lending process. Bet-
service
through
one
The two moved back to Chico in
ter yet, clients are given a direct line
January of 2004 and Chris joined
phone number to the specialist for
Wells Fargo Mortgage, climbing the
each stage of the process, allowing
ladder to branch manager in nine
them to work with the entire team
short months.
throughout the loan process. As
In June of 2009, Chris found that
anyone who has ever attempted a
he had grown tired of the bigger
home loan before will likely tell you,
bank mentality. Having worked in
there are few things more valuable
corporate lending for the prior six
than
years he recognized a lack of speed,
talk you through it step-by-step.
efficiency, and personalized com-
Whether you’re a first-time home
munication in the lending process,
buyer, multiple property investor, or
so he decided to set out to correct
even a new home developer, Sum-
it. He rented a small solo office
mit Funding has every product and
space from a local real estate bro-
program available under the sun at
kerage, hired an assistant, and spent
their fingertips with the know-how
the following two years building his
to make it work for you.
having
someone
who
can
new lending business before offi-
Chris points out that few peo-
cially opening the doors in 2011 to
ple know what they have to do
his franchise of Summit Funding in
to buy a home and therefore shy
Chico.
away from the process altogether,
Now home to Chris and his 26
afraid of the unknown. They lack
employees, the once small business
the knowledge of what they need
has grown by leaps and bounds, se-
to qualify for a home mortgage. It
curing its position as the third-larg-
is in walking each of them through
est volume lender in the corpora-
their own personalized process that
tion behind Sacramento, California,
Chris finds the most fulfillment in
and
Phoenix,
Arizona.
The
cor-
poration has grown alongside the business as well and is now home
CONNECT
Meet the Team - from left to right: Jeremy Williams (NMLS ID#746758), Danielle Wood, Chris Kobz (NMLS ID#208371), Tori Goble (NMLS ID #1158492), Heather Skelly (NMLS ID#1081922), and Jordan Claverie
Summit Funding, Inc. NMLS ID#3199 | 300 Salem St., Chico, CA 95928 | 530-924-4352 | www.chicohomeloans.com | Branch NMLS ID#845308 Summit Funding, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Lender
his work. He tries to make the experience as stress free and casual as he can.
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