Roots

James B. Nutter & Company started out as a close-knit family business. Remarkably, it has remained true to that character despite decades of growth into a first-tier national industry leader.

James Nutter Sr. entered the booming postwar real estate market after returning from military duty. For the first 2 years, James B. Nutter & Company operated out of the founder's home in Kansas City, Mo. He then moved the company to the city's historic Westport district, where wagon trains were once outfitted for the long journeys on the Santa Fe, California and Oregon trails.

Shortly after joining his father's firm 18 years ago, James Nutter Jr. spearheaded the firm's drive to expand beyond Kansas City into the national marketplace. Today, the firm makes loans in all 50 states, and 80 percent of the firm's loans are made outside the Kansas City area.

Over that time period, the Nutter Company has chosen not to invest in satellite branches. Instead, they have maintained a highly trained professional staff in Kansas City, capable of helping potential homeowners with their specific needs in a highly personal way. The cost savings stemming from avoiding the typical "bricks and mortar" branch office format have been passed on to customers through the Nutter Company's low rates and renowned "no junk fees" policy. Low overhead, "personal touch" customer service and a pro-consumer approach helped the firm grow into one of the largest privately owned real estate mortgage firms in America.

The firm pioneered the True No Cost Refinance Loan in 1985 and has closed more than 100,000 of these loans. In addition, James B. Nutter Jr. has emerged as an industry spokesman by challenging so-called "junk fees," purported closing costs, often charged by many lenders. Examples include underwriting, application, processing and document preparation charges. He has been featured in Time magazine and many national newspapers including USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and in television appearances on NBC Nightly News, CNBC, and the Wall Street Journal Review warning borrowers to avoid paying such needless fees.

Through the years, "personal touch" customer service has remained the hallmark of the firm's way of doing business. It's the reason why second and even third generations of families have chosen James B. Nutter & Company to handle their real estate mortgage needs. The company's trademark - a stylized roof atop a large red "N" - stands to invite customers to "come on home," and remind them that the best rates are found under Nutter's roof.

Industry Firsts

James B. Nutter & Company has a long and proud tradition of industry leadership. The company was:

• the first lender in the nation to close and sell an FHA Senior Citizen Reverse Mortgage. This unique loan program enables the borrower to receive a monthly payment backed by the equity in his or her home.
• among the first handful of mortgage lenders to market real estate loans to African-Americans.
• among the very first to recognize the income of women as a part of the family's financial base when qualifying for a home loan.
• selected in 1995 as one of the first three lenders in the country to sign the HUD Fair Lending/ Best Practices Agreement. This voluntary agreement formally recognized our continuing efforts to promote home ownership for historically underserved borrowers while utilizing safe, sound mortgage-lending principles.
• chosen as a pilot site for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Quarterly Reporting to Ginnie Mae (GNMA) on the mortgage-backed securities program.
• the first loan issuer in the nation to successfully test and implement EDI with HUD.
• And, we rank among the nation's leaders of large mortgage bankers in having the fewest mortgage defaults with HUD.