Mortgage associations join forces

FORT COLLINS – Legal assistance and lobbyists are two of the benefits Northern Colorado mortgage lenders now have after their local association was dissolved and subsequently taken over by a statewide group.The Northern Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association voted earlier this year to let the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association absorb its membership in an effort to solidify representation and strengthen benefits for members. The takeover recently was completed.
“The transition has been slow,´ said Karen Sipes, branch manager at CTX Mortgage Co. of Fort Collins and president of what now is the Northern Colorado chapter of the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association.
Sipes noted that previously, local members did not have access to legal help or lobbying efforts through the Northern Colorado organization.
“It certainly is a benefit,” she said of the new arrangement.
The move to solidify representation for mortgage lenders in Colorado came about when the state Legislature observed that the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association in fact did not represent the entire state.
In fact, the Southern Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association, representing markets such as Colorado Springs and Pueblo, also is being dissolved and taken over by the state group. A group of lenders in Grand Junction and Durango also are considering joining the state organization.
“All existing members were grandfathered in as members of the state association,´ said Chris Holbert, marketing director for the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association.With the addition of the Northern Colorado and Southern Colorado lenders, the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association now totals 451 members.
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