New mortgage center in Columbia expected to have $10M impact

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Southern First Bancshares Inc., the holding company for Southern First Bank, has opened a new mortgage center in Columbia with the goal of helping people achieve the dream of homeownership.

Southern First’s mission is to impact lives in the communities it serves, and one of the most impactful and wealth-building events in a person’s life is becoming a homeowner, a Southern First news release stated. However, many potential buyers lack the access to lenders, credit, and information about the homebuying process necessary to begin the path to homeownership. As a relationship-first financial institution, First Bancshares looks to fill that to help people achieve their homeownership goals.

“We believe deeply in the power of relationships and trust to impact lives,” Art Seaver, CEO of Southern First, said in the release. “As we think creatively about how we can have even more to impact those around us, we are excited about the privilege we have in helping more people own homes.”

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With this in mind, Southern First created the Dream Mortgage Center, a space purposely designed to create opportunities for education and outreach in an underserved community in Richland County, the release stated. By providing access to homebuyer education, meeting space for community events, and mortgage lending experts equipped with a variety of loan products to fit any budget, Southern First hopes to create over $10 million of annual impact in Columbia, the release stated.

“We are excited to use the Dream Mortgage Center as a place where relationships can be built and where we can do our part to enable the dream of homeownership,” Cal Hurst, President of Southern First, said in the release. “This Center is unique – designed to be inviting, not imposing; built to facilitate partnership, not just transactions; aimed at making people better off in the community they love.”

The Dream Mortgage Center is located at 452 Killian Road, Suite B in Columbia.

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