Opening in a tough climate

Despite the crumbling economy and current mortgage crisis, two longtime area residents recently opened a local branch of a regional mortgage bank in Culpeper.

After years of experience with other local mortgage businesses, David Dunwody and William Frederick opened Access National Mortgage, a direct lender and subsidiary of Reston-based Access National Bank.

“We’re Virginia people and we wanted a Virginia bank,” Frederick said. “It was a little bit nerve-wracking (to open), but we’ve been received graciously and optimistically. It’s not the easiest climate to open in.”

Frederick, who used to work for SLS Mortgage, has lived in Culpeper since he was a toddler. Dunwody, who has lived in Culpeper the past 30 years, owned two pawnshops in town until the early 2000s before working for H&R Block and later Mason Dixon Funding. The two opened Access National Mortgage three weeks ago.

“We made sure they were a top-notch company and our mortgage would be safe with them,” said client Carrie Mullins, who worked with Dunwody to refinance her home in Bealeton. “They are the holder of the money; I send my payments directly to them. They’re not a third-party lender.”

ANM operates five brick-and-mortar banks in the mid-Atlantic region, with 14 mortgage businesses. The mortgage division, which started in 1985, merged with the bank in 1999 in order to gain a federal charter. Access National Bank holds nearly $650 million in total assets as of June 30, according to bank rating service Bauer Financial, Inc., which gave the bank a four-star rating out of five.

Because Access National is backed by a bank and loans its own money taken in from deposits, Dunwody said it was not impacted by the economy in the same way many other brokers have been, which is why he said he opted for the transition to ANM.

“What we’re doing is loans that make sense,” he said. “We’re taking a holistic approach to our clients. It’s not about selling a loan; it’s about making sure it’s the right fit. When we make a commitment to these people, it means something to us.”

Dunwody and Frederick also gave a few insights into the current mortgage meltdown, noting that the problem isn’t new but stemmed from the past 30 years of the government encouraging low-income home ownership.

“Once the standards got loosened, it opened the floodgates,” Dunwody said, referring to the now-infamous Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fiasco. “But everybody in this equation has responsibility for what happened. Everybody got a little greedy and caught up in it. It needs to go back to personal accountability and knowing what you can afford.”

Catherine Amos can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 138 or .

Want to know more?
Business: Access National Mortgage
Owners: David Dunwody and William Frederick, senior mortgage bankers
Location: 1300 Sunset Lane, Suite 3216 in Mulberry Commons
Contact: Visit AccessNational.com or call 727-7507