The Leeway Story - 30 Years and Growing
Dennis Lee
Founder, President
Rick Pierce
SVP Bank Services
Cat Hernandez
VP - Head of Texas Branch
Chapter 1— Learning the Business.
In 1986, Dennis Lee began working for Sacramento Savings and Loan, the largest construction lender in the region at the time. His journey would take him from disbursement of construction loans to progress inspections to finally Chief Inspector. Then First Interstate Bank bought the company and disbanded the construction loan department.
Chapter 2— On His Own.
Dennis began Leeway Inspections in 1994, servicing the loans that were still on the books and was able to land a few local banks to sustain the business as an independent contractor. Because of his experience both inside the office and in the field, Dennis’ portfolio grew quickly.
Chapter 3— Regional Leader.
Rick Pierce joined Dennis in 1998 to help him grow the business. Over the next eight years Leeway Inspections Company, Inc. grew to nearly 1,000 inspections a month mostly in the Sacramento/Bay Area, employing 5 inspectors and servicing over 30 lenders. Sacramento Business Journal included Leeway in the 100 Fastest Growing Companies List of both 2004 and 2005. Leeway was the largest inspection company in the region.
Chapter 4— The Great Recession.
The real estate crash was both a curse and a blessing. The company descended into a one man operation once again since very little construction was taking place in Sacramento. However, because of Leeway’s strength and diversity of clients, it began doing inspections outside the area changing its focus from local to multi-state.
Chapter 5— West Coast and Beyond.
Now Leeway inspects in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada currently with over 800 inspections each month and growing. The landscape has changed in this era of social networking and internet banking. Loans are no longer just local. If you are looking for a company that focuses on providing construction progress inspections, has extensive experience working with local community and regional banks and understands the needs of the lender, then Leeway is uniquely equipped to help any bank regardless of size or location build anywhere in the United States.