Embrace Home Loans Promotes Greg Dalgarno To Director Of Builder Services

Embrace Home Loans, a top-ranked national mortgage lender, announced that Greg Dalgarno has been promoted from sales manager to director of builder services. Based in Timonium, Maryland, Dalgarno will focus on growing Embrace’s new construction home lending business throughout the East Coast by forming partnerships with homebuilders and recruiting loan officers who specialize in new home construction. Dalgarno expects to hire 15 to 20 new loan officers over the next year.

“Greg has been instrumental in expanding our relationships with homebuilders by understanding their needs and presenting customized solutions,” said Jason Will, senior vice president of market growth at Embrace Home Loans. “Greg also has vast experience working with homebuilders of all sizes, which is important today because many small and mid-size private builders must compete with national, publicly-traded builders with tremendous resources.” 

Dalgarno has over 20 years of mortgage industry experience. Prior to joining Embrace, he was a top-producing originator and sales manager at Guaranteed Rate and Wells Fargo, where he worked closely with homebuilders and helped both companies increase their overall sales.

“I’m looking forward to expanding Embrace’s footprint all along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida,” Dalgarno said. “Embrace has always been a strong advocate for new construction. Over the past few years, we’ve been growing that business and will continue to do so.”

Embrace is seeing more interest in new home construction loans today due to the lack of inventory on the market, Dalgarno said. He estimates Embrace has expanded its builder business by about 30% over the past year alone.

“With a shortage of existing homes available, buyers are more inclined to consider building their own home,” Dalgarno said. “We’ve also come up with some special programs and incentives that builders can offer to homebuyers, including discounted forward commitments. These commitments allow a builder to lock a block of funds at a below market interest rate, then pass the rate through to the buyers. Often, the rate can be a full percentage point—or even more— below market rates.”

Additionally, Embrace offers an Extended Rate Lock that protects a new construction homebuyer’s interest rate for up to 360 days. If rates drop before the home is finished, Embrace offers a one-time float down option within 30 days of closing so buyers have peace of mind regardless which direction the market moves.

In addition, Embrace launched Knock’s Bridge loan program, which helps homebuyers buy a new home before selling their current one, Dalgarno said. The program works like a bridge loan by providing financing to cover the gap between both transactions. A highlight of the program is that the buyer doesn’t have to qualify for both mortgage payments like they do with a traditional bridge program. Embrace also offers an FHA loan with a 100% combined loan-to-value which gives buyers the ability to purchase a home with little to no money out of pocket.

The company is currently developing a “builder-designated” certification for current and new loan officers. Embrace loan officers can earn the certification through a combination of in-house training and real-world experience working with homebuilders, Dalgarno said.