By Jim Larkin
Peg Matthews
Peg Matthews knows it can be uncomfortable when gay and lesbian couples make one of life's biggest decisions – mortgaging their home – with an agent who either doesn't understand or, worse yet, doesn't condone their lifestyle.
Yet that's usually what they are forced to do when they go to a big bank or large mortgage company. That's not the case at Creative Capital, which Matthews recently re-opened near her home town of Saugatuck, at 2987 Blue Star Highway in Douglas. She believes it to be the only gay-owned mortgage broker in the state.
The small office with statewide service stresses personalized care to gay and lesbian clients, in the same manner that she and her own partner of 22 years would want.
"It's one of the biggest decisions you're going to make in your lifetime and it should be a happy occasion," said Matthews, who previously had a Creative Capital office in Royal Oak. "So you should be able to be yourself and be completely comfortable and open with the person providing the service, instead of wondering what he or she thinks of you.
"We shouldn't have to give our business to straight-owned businesses out of lack of choice and thankfully, when it comes to mortgages now we don't."
Matthews was a financial consultant to automobile dealerships before opening Creative Capital offices in suburban Detroit and Saugatuck in the late 1990s and continuing into the early 2000s, before the bottom fell out of the mortgage business and Matthews went on to other pursuits.
But the rejuvenation of the real estate and mortgage market allowed her to re-enter the field and provide the specialized service she said gay people deserve.
"With us you can be perfectly honest instead of sitting there thinking what to say and what not to say," Matthews said. "Let's face it, a lot of bankers are very conservative and that's not the kind of person most gay people feel comfortable dealing with."
She noted that those handling loans at major banks do not have to be licensed and operate instead under the umbrella license of the bank. Brokers like Creative Capital, however, have to have federal and state licensing. Her closing costs and interest rates are also usually lower than big banks, she added.
"Plus when you go into a bank you have to fit your scenario into their programs," she added. "I have the ability to customize programs to fit you."
Although located in Saugatuck, she can provide mortgages for people throughout the state. She has offices she can use in the metro Detroit area and title companies that can go directly to people to close their loans.
"With the Internet, overnight delivery and e-mail services, you don't even have to come into my office," she said. "I've done mortgages in Traverse City, the Upper Peninsula, all over Michigan."
Getting creative
What: Creative Capital. Inc, which could be Michigan's only gay-owned mortgage broker
Where: Offices at 2987 Blue Star Highway, Douglas, MI 49406
Who: Can service clients throughout Michigan
Why: Offers competitive rates and custom mortgages in an atmosphere gay people can be completely comfortable.
How: E-mail [email protected], call (269) 903-9252, or visit http://www.creativecapitalinc.com
