Independent mortgage bank Evergreen Home Loans is hiring in multiple regions as it continues a national expansion that includes launches in nearly a dozen new states this year and another 18 slated to come online before next year’s spring homebuying season.
Bellevue, Washington-based Evergreen announced an expansion into five Southeastern states in January — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee — and has also added Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas and Wyoming as new markets.
Last year, Evergreen funded 4,791 mortgages totalling $1.92 billion, up 22 percent from 2023, according to an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data by mortgage business intelligence provider iEmergent. Purchase loans accounted for 85 percent of Evergreen’s business in 2024, most of which was done west of the Rocky Mountains.
Evergreen obtained licenses and made a handful of loans last year in Florida, Texas and Wyoming but did not announce its official entry into Texas until June, with the hiring of former Texas Bank and Trust executive Walter Gallipeau as area manager.
John Porath
Other recent additions to Evergreen’s management ranks to support the company’s expansion plans include former Guild Mortgage executive John Porath (Southeast region area manager) and former Guaranteed Rate Affinity Regional President Jon Stacy (Midwest region manager).
Jon Stacy
Another former Guaranteed Rate Affinity executive, Cynthia Carr, signed on as Evergreen’s Ohio area manager in July, while former Guild Mortgage area manager Barry Abt is now the company’s New Mexico area manager.
Evergreen sponsors 226 mortgage loan originators who work out of 57 branch locations in 12 states — Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Washington — according to records maintained by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.
The company’s job board listed 16 openings Monday, including funding manager, regional processing manager, talent acquisition manager, funder, funding manager, senior underwriter, loan officer and loan officer assistant.
Evergreen Home Loans expansion map
Source: Evergreen Home Loans.
Evergreen says that having set up shop in 11 new states, its “strategic expansion into carefully identified markets nationwide” will be completed by the end of March, 2026, when it plans to be licensed in 18 additional states.
“While Evergreen does not expect to be in all 50 states, this focused growth strategy positions the company for long-term success while maintaining its commitment to exceptional service, on-time closings, and a culture where team members thrive,” the company announced Monday.
Andrew Leff
In addition to expanding its geographic footprint, Evergreen is pursuing partnership-driven growth strategies including builder and affinity relationships. Those efforts are overseen by Wells Fargo and Bank of America veteran Andrew Leff, who signed on as Evergreen’s head of national business development in May.
An ace in the hole for Evergreen when seeking partners is its cash offer program, CashUp.
Since launching in 2021, the CashUp program has grown into a suite of products that also includes a buy-before-you-sell product, “StepUp,” and a rate-lock product for sellers, “Lock and List.”
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