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Seeing our clients achieve key milestones is what drives our work at BCL of Texas. From startups that have expanded to multi-employee businesses to families buying their first homes, our success all comes down to you.
BCL is known for our small business lending programs, but did you know we also work with partners like city and local governments to help them reach small businesses for grants like covid-19 relief packages? Since the start of the pandemic, we have distributed over $11.5 million in grant relief funding to over 300 businesses.
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After working for other insurance agencies for several years, Sergio Cruz felt it was time to branch out and start his own venture. He drew on his wealth of experience to found Lowmas Insurance & Financial Services, offering a full suite of insurance and financial services to the Dallas area.
Owning an equestrian facility has been a lifelong dream of Jacqueline McCroskey. Starting her riding career as a young child, working with horses on a daily basis was something she could only imagine. After graduating college with a degree in Equine Studies, she moved to Texas, where BCL of Texas helped her bring her dream to reality by providing lending capital for her purchase of the land that would soon become Needville Equestrian Farm.
Ruth and Arnold Guerra were born and raised in Gonzales, Texas, where they have opened hotels, restaurants, and built homes to meet their community’s needs. “We started with nothing,” Ruth said. Now, they have built over 100 homes in their community of 7,000 people.
I visited the Guerras and we drove around the town, as Ruth pointed out both homes she and her husband had worked on, as well as other neighborhoods of older homes in states of disrepair. Gonzales has not had new home construction in a long time. “Big builders are not going to come into this town,” Ruth said. In a previous subdivision, a builder constructed about 5 homes and then left town, the work unfinished. We drove past a 17-home affordable subdivision of 3-bedroom homes the Guerras built in 2009.
Now, they are building Angel Oaks, a 6-home development for median income families, featuring 3-bedroom ranch-style homes with yards. A longtime customer of BCL, having worked with us in the past for an SBA 504 loan, the Guerra family is now working with BCL’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Texas Community Builders for our new pre-development loan product.
The demand for median-priced new housing in Gonzales is apparent, as five of the Angel Oaks homes have already been purchased, just as groundbreaking has barely begun. Most of the buyers are people of color, and all are first-time homeowners. “People are getting out of renting and into their first homes,” Ruth said.
And as with their hotels, their construction business is a family venture. They’ve taught their two daughters skills in construction, management, and project administration. “In the big city, you get a job and you learn one thing,” Ruth said. She said her daughters are now prepared with a wide range of skills to take on all kinds of jobs.
“I’m really glad that Texas Community Builders is investing in small developers,” Ruth said. “I appreciate that they saw that we have projects that will benefit individuals that probably never would have been able to buy a home. Without Texas Community Builders, we would not have been able to do this project.”
Three new homeowners who worked with BCL through our NeighborhoodLIFT down payment assistance program may be surprised to find themselves neighbors in the same newly built cul-de-sac in Manor.
The Community Loan Center (CLC) of Austin offers an alternative to payday loans for people facing unexpected bills. With a simple application process, loans up to $1,000 can be obtained with low interest rates and manageable repayment plans automatically deducted from paychecks. Don Molden, a satisfied customer, encourages others to consider CLC to avoid financial hardship.
Just a few weeks in, it’s easy to see the new Counter Cafe location is going to be a hit.
“We have some regulars who come in twice a day,” says owner Debbie Davis. “This is a place where strangers talk to strangers. How many places can you go where that happens?”
COVID-19 impacted many businesses, forcing most to permanently close their doors. Despite the economic and social crises of the pandemic, Rodney Burchfield, Managing Partner of Burchfield & Partners persevered through the challenges his company faced to successfully break ground on their largest project in 2022. Thanks, in part, to the financial assistance and support provided by BCL of Texas.
Suite 500 Austin, TX 78701 P: 512.912.9884 F: 346.301.5752 NMLS #1114924
Suite 1220 Dallas, TX 75208 P: 214.688.7456 F: 346.301.5752 NMLS #1114924
Suite 2 San Marcos, TX 78666 P: 512.383.0027 NMLS #1114924