Direct VA Lender Serving the Military Community Since 1992

Our founder, William K Marshall, started in the mortgage industry in 1992 in the Detroit metropolitan area.  “My very first loan was a VA transaction - I took the application by hand!”  says Marshall.  “I had no idea that 15 years later, I would be running a company that serves almost exclusively VA buyers and VA homeowners.”

Having come from a proud military family, Bill made it his mission to become a VA Expert and to train others alongside him.  Our first win in the VA space was in 2010 when we figured out how to close a VA home loan in 14 days.  At the time, this was unheard of and nearly guaranteed contract acceptance on every offer.  While we see some competitors that can do this occasionally, Merchants HomeLending is set up to do this on every file, whether required or not.

The next win for Merchants came in 2012 when we made the decision to lead with low rates and fees. This was the smartest decision we ever made and it came about largely because we figured out how to streamline the VA loan process, thereby reducing the cost to originate.  This savings was then passed on to the VA homebuyer or homeowner.

In 2016 as technology really began to take over our industry, we realized that we no longer needed to operate the traditional mortgage business model of having Loan Officers, Loan Processors, File Intake Clerks, Closers, Funders and Post Closers.  We consolidated to 2 positions.  Loan Officers and Closers. Our Loan Officers are Single Point of Contact who carry your loan from application to close – no one else touches your file.  This lean approach allowed us to continue as the lowest cost provider of VA home loans.

As we approach 2025, Merchants continues toward the most efficient approach to VA home lending by offering more automated tools like Rate Tracking and a Home Search Valuation portal . Currently, all VA borrowers preapproved through Oct 15, 2024 have received full underwriting approval once they had their offer accepted.  “We haven’t had a loan declined in underwriting since 2014.”  When we say that our Yes Means Yes, this is why.  We thoroughly vet all aspects of the loan file up front so there are never any surprises once our clients have contract acceptance.

Youth Tennis San Diego – 2025 will be our 5th year providing tennis camp scholarships to the children of active duty parents Wounded Warriors Tennis Program - entering our 3rd year of sponsoring lunches for this program, which meets every Tuesday at Balboa Park San Diego Veterans Tennis Classic – Merchants has been a key sponsor of this event since its inception and our founder, Bill Marshall, was elected to the Board of Directors of this tournament in 2024.  This is an annual college tennis tournament that features the US Naval Academy and The University of San Diego along with 6 other rotating men’s and women’s college tennis teams. San Diego Open – This WTA event is a prestigious stop on the women’s professional tennis circuit.  Merchants has proudly sponsored many of the Military Appreciate Days’s at this incredible event at the Barnes Tennis Center.

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