It’s no secret that 2020 was hard. From a global pandemic to social unrest to murder hornets, the whole world has had to quickly adapt to a new normal. Times have been unpredictable, abnormal, and even sometimes downright scary. However, this year has been an important lesson in the resilience of the amazing communities we live, work, and play in. Thanks to all of you, Flat Branch Home Loans has been able to survive and thrive, and we want to outline all the reasons we appreciate you – our borrowers, our employees, and our communities.

Growth

First quarter brought about a challenge none of us have experienced before. Will people want to make the investment of buying a home during a global pandemic? Can we even operate without employees in offices? The adjustment took time, but we were able to adapt and make it work, even though our team wasn’t all together. Thanks to lower rates, we were able to secure better loans for our borrowers and get more of them into their dream homes. Because of that, we’ve had several record-breaking months and helped nearly 15,000 families purchase homes in 2020. That amounts to 2 billion dollars in loans this year alone! In October, we also brought on our 500th employee, so our team is bigger and stronger than ever. We’re so excited to continue helping families in 2021 and beyond.

The Giving Branch

It’s been a massive year for our foundation as well. The Giving Branch has raised nearly $400,000 from Flat Branch Home Loans employees this year, which we have used to help families and charities in our communities. To date, The Giving Branch has helped over 241 families and organizations. We also established the Giving Branch Scholarship in July and were able to grant six non-traditional students $15,000 in funds. Since our birth in 2018, The Giving Branch has raised over $1 million in employee contributions, and we hope that number will only grow in 2021.

Achievements

Flat Branch Home Loans has grown to new heights in 2020. In addition to closing more loans than ever and growing to a company that is 500 employees strong, we’ve also had the honor of earning several awards. This year, we were named the #1 USDA lender in Missouri and the #2 USDA lender in Kansas. We’re also ranked as the #13 USDA lender in the country. We’ve expanded to 60 locations throughout the Midwest, and we have lending offices in five states. In addition, our CEO, Karen Kreutziger, earned Housing Wire Magazine’s Rising Star award. We’re so thankful for these achievements, and we couldn’t have done it without our amazing team and the communities that support us!

Culture

While we haven’t been able to get together as much this year, we’ve still found ways to have fun as a company. This started with a partnership with a local brewery, Bur Oak Brewery, to develop Flat Branch branded beer. Our first beer, Flat Branch Home Loans House Brew, was such a hit in February that we had to celebrate our 500 strong milestone with another brew. Thus, Flat Branch 500 was born in September. We decided we wanted all of our regions to experience our brews, so we created the Flat Branch Home Loans Event Truck! Make sure you look out for it at a Flat Branch event near you!

2020 was an eventful year – good, bad, ugly, but eventful. We want to take a moment to tell you - our borrowers, employees, and communities - how appreciative we are of everything you’ve done to help us grow in 2020. We can’t wait to see what 2021 holds. Remember that we’re here for you – living, working, and playing in the communities we serve. Let’s get you home.

Finding Reasons to be Thankful in 2020