Famed commercial mortgage leader and philanthropist Mr. Ira Zlotowitz of Lakewood announced today that he will be leaving Eastern Union, the company he founded 21 years ago, and opening a new company that he believes will shake up the commercial real estate mortgage brokerage.
Mr. Zlotowitz is raising $12 million for his new company, Gparency, which he says will allow landlords and real estate developers to bypass mortgage brokers and work directly with banks.
“80% of real estate owners and developers either always or sometimes go directly to banks for loans. I would rather play in the 80% arena than the 20% arena,” Zlotowitz explained to TLS.
Gparency is a revolutionary company that will bypass brokers by providing landlords and developers with all the information they need to approach banks for a loan and will charge an upfront fee for their service, rather than taking a commission as brokers do.
Mr. Zlotowitz said that Gparency already has investment commitments from 80 real estate investors, brokers, attorneys, and lenders. Gparency will be staffed with some of Zlotowitz’s current staff at Eastern Union, including from the banking, tech, and data teams. He also plans to roll out a mobile application that will allow clients to track their deals in real-time.
The name Gparency is a blend of words – GP (general partner) and transparency, a nod to the company’s mission.
“A big problem in real estate these days is that people simply don’t know what their options are,” Zlotowitz told TLS. “Gparency will give all the data people need right into their hands. And even if they do end up using a broker, they will find our data incredibly useful in getting a loan approved. Gparency gives landlords and developers transparency, it gives them data, and it is a game-changer in the commercial mortgage sphere.”
Ira Zlotowitz started his business career in 1997 working for Meridian Capital, where he quickly rose through the ranks of the company before leaving as a partner in the firm in 2001. Mr. Zlotowitz explained that he left Meridian Capital because the company was purchased by a bank and he noticed that the bank was more interested in fulfilling quotas for commercial loans than ensuring that clients receive the best service possible.
Mr. Zlotowitz then founded Eastern Union, a commercial mortgage broker that has grown into one of the most powerful commercial real estate mortgage firms in the country, a feat he attributes to pure siyata dishmaya. Now, after 21 years at Eastern Union, Mr. Zlotowitz says that it’s time to focus less on the 20% of landlords and developers who use brokers, and more on the 80% of people who do not and instead work directly with banks.
“Gparency is a tremendous opportunity and is a truly different way of going about obtaining a commercial mortgage,” Mr. Zlotowitz told TLS. “B’ezras Hashem, this new venture will be with mazel and hatzlacha, and will provide the people who it can be of use to a better way of getting a loan.”
So is Eastern closing?
Ira is always on the move. The writing was in the wall that brokers will become less and less needed.
Always on the move??
He says he has been with Eastern Union for 21 years!
Maybe they charge the borrower a fixed fee upfront but will they be taking something from the banks in return for being included in the ‘database’?
Is this paid content? I heard he was going to be the new CEO of BMG?
Touche!
Scratching my head here:
1- “80% of real estate owners and developers either always or sometimes go directly to banks for loans”.
So till now, they were happily approaching banks directly and now they will suddenly agree to pay an upfront fee?
2- “A big problem in real estate these days is that people simply don’t know what their options are”
With the worldwide web at their fingertips and communication with attorneys and contemporary owners and developers, they still don’t know all their options? How pervasive is this problem?
3- “He noticed that the bank was more interested in fulfilling quotas for commercial loans than ensuring that clients receive the best service possible”
So some banks’ strategy for fulfilling and expanding quotas, was by delivering inferior service to its borrowers? Which bank was this, and where are they today?
4- “Charge an upfront fee for their service”
What if the loan doesn’t close, how much does the developer get back?
5- After 21 years at Eastern Union, Mr. Zlotowitz says that it’s time to focus less on the 20% of landlords and developers who use brokers, and more on the 80%.Mr. Zlotowitz is raising $12 million for his new company, Gparency”
So investors are going to park 12 million with a firm that says it spent the last 21 years restricting itself to only 20% of its potential market?
Sounds like a smart investment to me.
I hope things work out for him. If they don’t however, he could always go back to Kollel now that BMG doubled the kollel checks
he’s raising $12 million? He can do that in 5 minutes, why does he need to raise $. The article is missing details.
heard he is partnering with Aron Kotler
I know first hand what happens on the inside of meridian. No need to make up things about one of the greatest companies in America. Good luck to you anyways.
all our children supporting their families who became mortgage brokers
will lose their parnassa, the banks and real estate ppl already are ok so that is a great worry
Wow – this is shocking news. Ira is a gr8 guy & I wish him only the best…
I would, however, just like to set the record straight – over the years I’ve met a LOT of satisfied customers of Meridian Capitol. The bank that “bought” them (Independence Bank, at the time – now Santander) did NOT buy a majority stake in the company. I don’t know if they have quotas or not but I’m confident Meridian clients are getting the “best service possible”
Hatzlocha RAbbah !!
How can I apply for a job? How can he be reached?
To susan…
Sit back and relax…the same Ribbono shel Olam who provided for them until now hasn’t left His job!
Ephshar he’s starting something with Rabbi Aron Ahlit’a