http://www.inman.com/Member/specialreports/0905YaV07/story.aspx?ID=64461

lJeff Tumbarello, a loan originator for Union Savings Bank in Columbus, Ohio, said the bank's business model has "survived the crisis because we do common sense loans. There's always a margin of safety. We're not very aggressive, although we're aggressive for the right people."

For borrowers with FICO scores of 620 or below, the bank offers FHA, VA and Ohio Housing Finance Agency programs.

"We're on track to having a pretty good month, Tumbarello said at the end of August. "The office is quite busy. We're closing 25 to 30 loans tomorrow, and picking up business where a lot of the other lenders have fallen off."

Although Ohio has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, Tumbarello said Columbus offers opportunities for investors who concentrate on generating monthly cash flows from rentals, rather than generating profits buying and selling property.

"Columbus is a great market," said Tumbarello, who recently relocated from Florida. "There's a ton of industry, you have Ohio State University, major banks and insurance companies -- it's a stable, bell-curve-type market, without the peaks and valleys of a market like Florida. It's steady Eddie."