Despite a downturn in residential construction, one south Charlotte company expects demand for home loans to justify plans to increase its staff by 50 percent.

Ameritrust Mortgage this month held a job fair with the goal of hiring 40 loan originators. John Owens, the company's president and chief executive, said a surge in home-loan refinancing and Ameritrust's commitment to fully serve clients is driving the expansion.

“Our big cultural theme is customer obsession, which we define simply as ‘to make everyone feel important,'” Owens said recently in his Ballantyne office. “Well, if we don't have enough qualified staff to make everyone feel important, the formula just doesn't work for us.”

That's why Owens is always watching for people who take the extra step, such as the restaurant employee who gave him a free bag of potato chips with a sandwich and drink, saying, “It looked like these would go well with that.”

That attitude “absolutely” fits with Ameritrust, Owens said. “He's coming in for an interview.”

The hiring binge is the latest step in reinventing Ameritrust. Founded in 1995, the private company in early 2007 closed its wholesale lending company, which made high-rate loans to home buyers through independent brokers. Most of its 100 employees were laid off, and Owens reshaped Ameritrust as a consumer-oriented prime mortgage lender, previously only a small piece of the business.

A Buffalo, N.Y., native who earned a baseball scholarship to UNC Charlotte, Owens, 43, said the mortgage industry shrank from about $3 trillion in 2006 to about half that at the end of 2007. It should rebound to $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion, he said.

At Ameritrust, the loans approved this year are expected to almost double those in 2008, Owens said, describing the company's move to boost its current 80-employee staff as “deciding to go all-in again.”

Owens spoke with the Observer last week. Comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: How did the job fair go?

We had 80 applicants. We invited 40 to come in, and I believe 32 showed. Of those, we've decided to bring half back for a second interview and have a second job fair in the next couple of weeks.

Q: Are you looking for people with a certain background or experience?

There's the standard of sales experience. If they have mortgage experience, it's a big plus, or if they're licensed by the state. But it really comes back to our core values of, “Can we trust them?” And that's what we find out in the interviews.

Q: How can you hire people during a recession?

We have the demand. We feel like we've kept our costs down to the point that we can fulfill the demand with increased staff. There's some great, quality people out there.

There is no guarantee we'll be here tomorrow. There is no guarantee we'll be here next year. There have been many, many ups and downs. But we've got to come in every day ready to compete and win.

Q: Why would someone get into the mortgage business right now?

When can you remember somebody being able to receive a 30-year mortgage in the 4 percent range? I don't think it's been in our lifetime. So why not?

The financing is the boring part. The dream part of refinancing is what gets us excited every day. Why would you not want to be able to help somebody out?

Q: But if the industry won't be as big, is the customer pool smaller now?

Prime loans three years ago would be considered subprime today. The industry has learned quite a bit in terms of the aggressiveness of growing the economy through creative mortgage lending.

Credit is still very tight. Documentation has increased. Legislation has gotten tighter. These are all the anxieties. But demand is still there.

Q: How are job applicants selling themselves?

It's not difficult to find people who are smarter than me. What's pleasant is I can learn from every one of those people.

Q: Have you seen desperation from people who just want any job?

No. I saw a lot hunger in their eyes. They want to come to work, and they want to help the organization and they want to make money.

Q: What else do people need to thrive in a new job?

A great attitude. They've got to be willing to learn and to accept change. But most important, they've got to come in with a great attitude.

There are a lot of applicants out there. Employees don't need to come into an interview or job with a sense of entitlement. We've had a few that have had a chip on their shoulder. With this organization, the chip of entitlement has been knocked off many years ago.

Q: Any other advice for job seekers?

Ask about the company's culture and make sure it's a good, proper fit. Don't take a job that you'll be miserable with.