Steve Harshfield knows one thing for certain: When it's 9 p.m. in New Jersey, it's 1 a.m. the next day in Melbourne, Australia.

It's not that every mortgage lender needs to calculate time zone changes on the fly. But the skill came in handy when he had 72 hours to help relocate a family from Down Under.

Working the system
There were the transcontinental faxes and telephone calls, the direct credit checks in a country with different regulations, and a little string-pulling with his state-side property appraiser.

In the end, everything worked out OK. And that is why Harshfield, a senior vice president of operations at Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.'s mortgage division, says financing a new-construction home through a builder's in-house mortgage company can be a borrower's best bet.

"The way that I look at it is that it's very simple: The difference between us and other lenders is that we're motivated to provide the financing on a timely basis," says Harshfield. "If that means jumping through hoops, then we jump through hoops."

Reaction to mortgage rates
In the early 1980s, many developers entered the finance business essentially out of necessity -- fixed mortgage rates were approaching 20 percent and the savings & loan crisis was beginning to unfold, which meant mortgage money was drying up. Builders had to start helping their customers buy homes if they wanted to make sure sales remained on track.

"We kind of looked at the world and saw that coming and realized that we better have a way to provide financing," says Allan Pekor, president of Lennar Corp.'s financial services arm in Miami. "It turned out to be a great strategy."

For consumers, the advantages of the builder foray come in many shapes and sizes, lenders say. The first is rather straightforward: simplicity and convenience that comes with one-stop shopping. When people come into sales offices seeking information about a subdivision's new homes, they frequently hear a pitch about the company's affiliated lender, and may even be able to meet with a mortgage representative.

"We certainly have a much better understanding of what the new construction process is all about," says John Brinton, president of Red Bank, N.J.-based K. Hovnanian Mortgage. "We also have a relationship with the parent company that allows us to interact much more closely. We share information such as closing date and we share information about the status of the home: If the home delivery is moved up, we're immediately aware of that and we can work with the customer to move that up."

Incentives and perks
Beyond the paperwork and scheduling benefits, experts say builder-affiliated mortgage companies can offer financial incentives that outside lenders may not be able to match.

They may cover the title insurance fees or a home upgrade, for example, and might even pay all of a loan's closing costs, according to Judson Croom, president and chief executive officer of Centex Corp.'s CTX Mortgage division.

"We have a vested interest in trying to help as many people buy a Centex home as possible," the Dallas-based official says. "What we certainly would like to see is the consumer come to CTX, and there can be certain incentives to be paid to that consumer for using the mortgage company that wouldn't be paid if they don't."