21st Mortgage opened its doors in 1995 with a staff of four, which included two of the company's founders; CEO Tim Williams and CFO Rich Ray. Today, the company has more than 800 team members.. 21st Mortgage has contributed to the revitalization of downtown Knoxville and continues to actively participate and support local organizations in and around Tennessee. Since 2006, 21st Mortgage has been the largest employer of graduates from the University of Tennessee, Maryville College and East Tennessee State University. 21st Mortgage has had a consistent record of operating profitably since opening ... including the challenging recession years from 2008 - 2011. In December 2003, Clayton Homes acquired 21st Mortgage. 21st Mortgage has become the nation’s largest manufactured home lender originating more than $1.3billion of loans for new and previously owned homes. The company owns and services more than 180,000 mortgages with a value exceeding $9 billion. Since its beginning, 21st Mortgage has been a market leader in providing innovative loan programs for affordable housing.It offers a variety of finance programs for homebuyers interested in purchasing a manufactured home. It offers its loan programs in meeting the needs of home buyers in forty-six states across America. Since 2011 the company has won the prestigious National Lender of the Year award by the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) a record nine straight years. Simply put, the company has been recognized in each of the last nine years as the best lender in the industry.