Bay Equity Helping Public Service Heroes Buy Homes, Save Money

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 12, 2012) - Bay Equity Home Loans, one of the San Francisco area's most respected and successful mortgage lending institutions, recently announced that its Santa Rosa retail branch is participating in the Homes for Heroes and Friends of Heroes programs that provide home buying, selling and maintenance discounts to everyday workforce heroes.

Homes for Heroes is a community-minded, locally-driven organization that is committed to providing substantive housing-related savings to workforce heroes who are buying or selling a home. Those discounts include realtor credits of 25 percent of the gross commission paid on either the purchase or sale of a house, a lender credit of 0.5 percent on closing costs or application towards a reduced interest rate when using a Homes for Heroes preferred realtor and lender, along with discounted closing fees from using the Friends of Heroes program.

The Friends of Heroes program provides discounts on ancillary home services covering everything from plumbing, painting and landscaping to home remodeling and general contracting services. Even home security and home staging and moving companies offer discounted services.

"Basically, if it's in, on, around or related to a home, Homes for Heroes and Friends of Heroes can help these folks who serve us sacrificially every day to defer some of the cost and expense associated with buying, selling or maintaining their home," said Jeff Harris, the Homes for Heroes point of contact in Sonoma County and a mortgage professional at Bay Equity's Santa Rosa branch. "It's a phenomenal program that gives back to those who serve our country and our communities on a daily basis."

Two local heroes have already been helped by Bay Equity's participation in the Homes for Heroes program:

• Denise and Al Tillman qualified to purchase a home under the Homes for Heroes program through Denise's position at the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where she has worked for 17 years (Al also qualified by being recognized by the City of Santa Rosa as an outstanding citizen who assisted in the arrest of a known offender). Through the Homes for Heroes program, the Tillmans saved $1,130 in closing costs through a realtor credit (in addition to the realtor receiving a seller credit of $7,530), lowered their quoted interest rate from 4.25% to 4.0% with no cost, and were able to close escrow in just 25 days.
• Scott Huchting, a 20-year veteran firefighter for the city of Riverside, and his wife Suzanne qualified to refinance their home under the Homes for Heroes program. As a result the Hutchings were able to lower their quoted interest rate from 3.875% to 3.625% and close escrow in 28 days.

Harris, a former United States Navy Petty Officer who served a three-year deployment on board the USS Independence aircraft carrier before leaving the Navy in 1998, has been the driving force behind Bay Equity's involvement with Homes for Heroes.

"Because of his military background, Jeff has a deep understanding of the challenges facing our veterans and workforce heroes," explained George Adair, area sales manager of Bay Equity's Santa Rosa retail branch. "He has spearheaded our involvement in the Homes for Heroes program, and we look forward to bringing the savings it provides to as many workforce heroes as we can."

Anyone interested in the Homes for Heroes or Friends of Heroes programs can reach Harris at (707) 331-0111 or by stopping by the Bay Equity Santa Rosa branch at 755 4th Street in Santa Rosa.

About Homes For Heroes
Homes for Heroes® is a company that affiliates with Realtors®, lenders and other real estate-related service providers who offer substantial rebates and discounts to the Heroes who serve our nation and its communities every day. Our Heroes include military personnel, firefighters, law enforcement officers and others who make our communities a better place to live. This program was created after the tragic events of 9/11 as a "Thank you" to the men and women who have given so much. Homes for Heroes® is now expanding its discounts beyond the home buying and selling process with our Friends of Heroes® program. For more information visit our Web site at www.homesforheroes.com.

About Bay Equity
Bay Equity is a full-service wholesale and retail mortgage lending institution founded in June 2007 and headquartered in the heart of San Francisco's Financial District, one of the very few mortgage lenders actually located in the City by the Bay. Bay Equity also has operations centers in Concord, California, Portland, Oregon, Tacoma, WA and Everett, WA and more than 35 retail branch offices on the West Coast. In addition, Bay Equity has wholesale account executives covering the 10 Western States. To date the firm has funded more than 9,000 home loans totaling more than $3 billion and has grown to more than 300 employees. To learn more about Bay Equity, please visit our Web site at www.bayeq.com.