C — February 28 - March 13, 2014 — Commercial Office Spotlight — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
C ommercial O ffice S potlight Huge gains a testament to relationships, technology and efficiency Eastern Union sees 300% increase in January
W ith $234,903,000 in total loans closed last month, Eastern Union Funding finished the January with roughly four times the loan amount closed over the same month last year. The company closed just shy of $2 billion in 2013, according to Real Estate Weekly. The numbers put up in January alone - typically a slow month for the commercial real estate industry - put Eastern on a trajectory closer to $3 billion for 2014.
The month was punctuated by a $20 million deal which hinged on closing in 30 days by new rising star broker Jake Handelsman. It went to the closing table one day ahead of that deadline in the last few business hours of the month. Also of note was an $8 mil- lion refinance for a Phila- delphia construction project with 43 housing units and one retail building arranged by Eli Breiner. Located on North Sec- ond street, that deal covered 100 percent of hard and soft costs for Israeli borrowers on
a two year term. Eastern Union’s Maryland office, which recorded a 161 percent volume increase over 2012 last year, continued to make gains by arranging a $7.6 million acquisition loan for a 451-unit multifamily com- plex in Indianapolis. “Country Club Apartments” spans 20 buildings and is currently 30 percent vacant. The loan cov- ers up to 85 percent of the total costs on a three year term, in- terest only, without recourse. The month also highlighted a surge in multifamily lending
volume. Of Eastern’s January transactions, 60 percent were pure multifamily deals. Eastern Union president Ira Zlotowitz attributes the aggressive 2014 kick-off to Eastern’s stronger banking relationships, an upgraded underwriting department and investments in education and technology. Educating staff, no matter how experienced they are, is central to Eastern’s never- ending quest for perfection. “Training doesn’t stop even when you’ve closed billions,”
said Zlotowitz, who personally arranged over $43 million last month. “We do business on the basis of trust and advice--the quality of that hinges on stay- ing informed on the market and giving constant attention to your clients.” From the technology end, Eastern invested heavily this year in a wide area of upgrades and new features on Loan Tracker, Eastern’s internal customized CRM software and app. As a result, thousands of deals, lenders’ criteria, bank quotes and documents are at brokers’ fingertips, and the entire workflow is streamlined to maximum efficiency. “Everything from intricate ‘must-do’ reminders to detail- oriented customized reports increase communication, ef- ficiency and production and ultimately creates a happier client,” said Ben Neuwirth, director of Software Implemen- tation at Eastern. “We’re off to a great start,” AbrahamBergman, managing partner at Eastern told staff at a recent meeting. “Let’s keep that momentum going and raise the bar yet again in 2014.” n Pr i nce George ’ s County, MD — Commercial mortgage firm Eastern Union Funding announced the $11.223 million sale of Silver Hill Apart- ments, a 216-unit apartment complex. senior managing di- rector Marc Tropp and VP Shai Romirowsky helped facilitate the sale by locating a buyer. Eastern Union is recognized throughout the commercial real estate industry for their high volume of debt and equity financing. While investment sales are only a small portion of the firm’s business, Tropp and Romirowsky said it has exciting implications. “We’re not in the business of arranging sales, but we are in the business of building trust and maintaining rela- tionships,” Tropp said. “The deal came to us through one client and we presented it to another. When we can leverage our lending network like this, it’s a nice illustration of how sturdy it is.” n Shai Romirowsky and Marc Tropp facilitate $11.223m MD acquisition
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