Mortgage Network Inc. announced that Leanne Crist has joined the company as a loan officer in its Newport News, Va., branch, the company announced in a press release.
Crist will help area residents reach their home buying or refinancing goals, while serving clients throughout Virginia and specializing in the Hampton Roads area. Crist has 21 years of mortgage experience serving homeowners across the country, most recently as a mortgage loan officer at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
“We are thrilled to have Leanne join our team,” Rhonda D’Bene, manager of Mortgage Network’s Newport News branch, said in the release. “She’s a community advocate with many years of mortgage experience serving the Peninsula area.”
Crist described the local real estate market as competitive, but with a slight decline in activity compared with a year ago.
“Interest rates are slightly higher and home prices have increased about 3 percent,” Crist said. “Those factors, combined with low housing inventory and rates slowly rising, should prompt potential homebuyers to take action.”
Mortgage Network Inc. is one of the largest independent mortgage lenders in the eastern U.S.