From the Denver Business Journal (April 30, 1999)

When Derek Bamonte and Michele Capelle, partners at Mountain Crest Mortgage, Inc. in Denver, started their business in 1996, they shared a desk---and it was a coffee table.

The company has grown so much since then that their twelve employees all have desks, Bamonte joked.

From such meager beginnings, the company has grown tremendously. Its revenue tripled from 1996-1997 and again from 1997-1998.

Bamonte said he and Capelle became friends when they came to Colorado to ski together. After being friends for five years, they both moved from Chicago to Colorado and began their business.

Capelle has worked in the mortgage business since 1991. She worked in Chicago until she moved to Denver in 1995.

Bamonte has been in the mortgage business for twelve years and has a degree in finance from Indiana University. He shyly admits that he didn’t know what a mortgage was when he graduated. "They didn’t teach us that," he said. Obviously, things have changed since then.

Capelle and Bamonte attribute their business’ success to their high level of customer service. "Our customer service surpasses anybody else out there," Capelle said.

Mountain Crest Mortgage offers mortgages for single-family homes, town homes, condominiums, 2-4 units, vacation homes, second homes, investment property and new construction.

The business offers an over-the-phone application service that can be completed in ten minutes. After the phone application, the documents the client needs are taken to them by courier to make the process as smooth as possible.

David Pfeifer, an associate with Anderson Mason Dale Architects PC, said the over-the-phone pre-approval process was very helpful. "They make it extremely easy to get the process going," Pfeifer said. After working with Mountain Crest Mortgage on mortgaging his house and then refinancing it, Pfeifer has recommended the company to many of his friends. Pfeifer also said that the business’s Web site is very accessible and makes it convenient to check rates online. The company’s Web address is mountaincrest.com.

Capelle said, as part of their effort to offer high-quality service, Mountain Crest Mortgage sends out customer service letters to get feedback on their business after they have completed work with a client. She said eighty to eighty five percent of the letters are returned and always are full of positive feedback. "They always come back raving about how easy the process was," Capelle said.

Richard Rothman, president of Bloch Rothman & Associates, is a client of Mountain Crest Mortgage and recommends the business frequently. He said he refers people to Mountain Crest Mortgage because he knows they are honest. "Every time I’ve referred anybody to them, they’ve been very happy," Rothman said. His house is mortgaged with Mountain Crest Mortgage and he said they were very helpful in walking him through the entire sales process. "We got extraordinary service," he said. One of the best aspects of the service at Mountain Crest Mortgage is their zero point and zero origination plan, Rothman said.

Bamonte also said the biggest reason for his company’s success is its no point, no origination fee program.

Mountain Crest Mortgage is a member of the Better Business Bureau. The business has maintained a satisfactory record with the BBB, said Susan Minkin, BBB operations manager. The Mountain Crest Mortgage website is reviewed by the BBB and meets their standards for ethical practices on the Internet. A criteria for maintaining their membership at the BBB is that Mountain Crest Mortgage has not had any complaints about their service.

Mountain Crest Mortgage has expanded its business adding an office in Gates Credit Union in Littleton and a branch in Idaho. However, Bamonte and Capelle said they want their business to stay relatively small so it can maintain the high level of service they strive to offer to their customers. Bamonte said he will keep the company under twenty employees.