Looking to capitalize on the region’s improving housing market - and to increase its visibility - a local home loan company is relocating to The Forum.
 
Guaranteed Rate will soon move into 1,800 square feet of office space at the established shopping center at 1123 Military Cutoff Road, according to a news release Monday.
 
The firm, which currently leases space in an office building at 2030 Eastwood Road, will join a number of tenants at The Forum, including CityMac Apple Specialist, Lea/Schulz Law Firm, Realty World, Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
 
Guaranteed Rate officials are slated to move into The Forum by May 1, the news release said.
 
“We are pleased to have Guaranteed Rate, one of the largest home loan companies in the country, join the robust mix of retailers at The Forum Shops,” Alex Thorpe, the broker for Swain & Associates who completed the deal, said in the news release. “They were looking to increase their exposure to a more high-end clientele, which is something The Forum Shops can offer with its current mix of tenants and its location near the intersection of Military Cutoff Road and Eastwood Road.”
 
Chris Hutchens, Guaranteed Rate’s vice president for mortgage lending in Wilmington, confirmed that his office was looking for more space as well as more visibility in that corner of town than could be provided by the executive suite the office currently occupies.
 
“We essentially want to put up a billboard to let folks know we are here,” Hutchens said in a news release. “We needed a more permanent location and, frankly, more room to grow.”
 
Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate is the nation’s eighth-largest mortgage company, and has 170 offices across the U.S. and North Carolina.
 
Thorpe said the addition of Guaranteed Rate brings The Forum’s occupancy to 98.92 percent – with only one 1,140-square-foot unit left for lease.
 
More information about The Forum and a full list of tenants click here.