WALPOLE, Mass. -- Record low mortgage rates aren't just good for homeowners -- local mortgage companies are getting a boost, too.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that "steady growth" has been the mantra for Walpole-based Mortgage Master, a mortgage lending company. The company has hired more than 100 people in the past six months.

"We can take in a lot more business than we can handle, so we have to find a daily limit that we can deal with and then get them closed," said Leif Thomsen, Mortgage Master founder and CEO.

The good news is that it's been easy to find good talent because so many of their competitors have disappeared. They're writing $35 to $40 million in loans a day in 25 offices in the northeast. And while low-interest rates are the prime reason for the current demand, their longevity is the key to their success.

"I was questioning our sanity for awhile in 2005 and 2006 when the whole world was doing subprime loans and making huge money doing that and we weren't," Thomsen said.

Thomsen said the company's head underwriter Patricia Raymo deserves credit for not following the subprime trend.

"A lot of banks and lending institutions loosened up guidelines and we refused to do that," Raymo said.

The company doesn't advertise, but with a default rate of less than a half of a percent, Mortgage Masters is not having trouble reselling to the banks. Those who have been with company for two decades refuse to gloat, but:

"We are looking pretty smart. One of the last standing, as they say," said Bruce Engel, an employee for 19 years.