Key Takeaways
- • Truss Financial Group, a Ladera Ranch, California-based Non-QM specialist, is adding direct lending in California, allowing it to underwrite, approve, and fund loans in-house while keeping its wholesale model.
- • Outside its direct-lending markets, Truss will continue placing loans through more than 90 wholesale lenders; the company says its combined footprint spans 44 states and Washington, D.C.
- • Truss plans to extend direct lending to additional states over the coming quarters, creating a hybrid model that controls credit decisions on selected California loans.
- • The company previously described itself as a 99% Non-QM brokerage closing about 1,350 loans annually, according to comments Jeff Miller made to National Mortgage Professional in March.
- • Truss's May digital HELOC offers up to $750,000 with closings in as little as five business days, and a later DSCR-based HELOC offers lines up to $1 million with DSCR qualification as low as 0.75.
Summary
Truss Financial Group is adding direct lending capabilities in California, giving the Non-QM specialist greater control over underwriting and funding while preserving the wholesale model that has defined its business, according to National Mortgage Professional (NMP). The Ladera Ranch-based company said it can now underwrite, approve, and fund California loans in-house, and plans to introduce direct lending in additional states over the coming quarters.
Outside its direct-lending markets, Truss will continue placing loans through a network of more than 90 wholesale lenders. The company says its combined footprint extends across 44 states and Washington, D.C. The result is a hybrid model in which Truss controls the credit decision and funding process on selected California files while continuing to shop loans among wholesale partners elsewhere. Direct lending could give Truss more control over files that do not fit neatly within another lender's guidelines, while wholesale access preserves a broader range of programs and pricing when its own credit box is not the best fit.
The shift is meaningful for a company that previously described itself primarily as a brokerage. In March, founder and CEO Jeff Miller told NMP that Truss had become a 99% Non-QM brokerage closing approximately 1,350 loans annually. Truss specializes in complex files, including bank-statement mortgages for self-employed borrowers, debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans for real estate investors, asset-depletion loans, and standalone second-lien home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).
The direct-lending push reinforces the company's focus on home equity and alternative documentation. In May, Truss introduced a digital HELOC for self-employed borrowers and investors offering up to $750,000, with closings in as little as five business days; some borrowers can qualify using 12 to 24 months of bank statements rather than tax returns or W-2 income. Truss subsequently launched a DSCR-based HELOC for rental-property investors, with lines of up to $1 million and qualification at a DSCR as low as 0.75.
Miller said the strategy addresses homeowners holding low fixed primary rates who want to tap equity without disturbing existing first-mortgage financing. "Expanding into direct lending allows us to accelerate overall funding timelines, offer direct underwriting transparency, and provide enhanced speed for self-employed business owners and portfolio investors requiring reliable liquidity," he said. Jason Nichols, partner and chief marketing officer at Truss, said the hybrid model lets clients secure faster turnaround through in-house funding while retaining access to a nationwide suite of loan programs. Direct lending is therefore more than a geographic expansion for Truss; it is an effort to control more of the origination process on the Non-QM loan types that define its business without giving up wholesale product breadth and pricing flexibility.
Outside its direct-lending markets, Truss will continue placing loans through a network of more than 90 wholesale lenders. The company says its combined footprint extends across 44 states and Washington, D.C. The result is a hybrid model in which Truss controls the credit decision and funding process on selected California files while continuing to shop loans among wholesale partners elsewhere. Direct lending could give Truss more control over files that do not fit neatly within another lender's guidelines, while wholesale access preserves a broader range of programs and pricing when its own credit box is not the best fit.
The shift is meaningful for a company that previously described itself primarily as a brokerage. In March, founder and CEO Jeff Miller told NMP that Truss had become a 99% Non-QM brokerage closing approximately 1,350 loans annually. Truss specializes in complex files, including bank-statement mortgages for self-employed borrowers, debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans for real estate investors, asset-depletion loans, and standalone second-lien home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).
The direct-lending push reinforces the company's focus on home equity and alternative documentation. In May, Truss introduced a digital HELOC for self-employed borrowers and investors offering up to $750,000, with closings in as little as five business days; some borrowers can qualify using 12 to 24 months of bank statements rather than tax returns or W-2 income. Truss subsequently launched a DSCR-based HELOC for rental-property investors, with lines of up to $1 million and qualification at a DSCR as low as 0.75.
Miller said the strategy addresses homeowners holding low fixed primary rates who want to tap equity without disturbing existing first-mortgage financing. "Expanding into direct lending allows us to accelerate overall funding timelines, offer direct underwriting transparency, and provide enhanced speed for self-employed business owners and portfolio investors requiring reliable liquidity," he said. Jason Nichols, partner and chief marketing officer at Truss, said the hybrid model lets clients secure faster turnaround through in-house funding while retaining access to a nationwide suite of loan programs. Direct lending is therefore more than a geographic expansion for Truss; it is an effort to control more of the origination process on the Non-QM loan types that define its business without giving up wholesale product breadth and pricing flexibility.
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