Eastern Union sees 300% increase in January

With $234.903 million in total loans originated, Eastern Union Funding finished the month of January with four times the total 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. The month also highlighted a surge in multifamily lending volume. Of Eastern's January transactions, 60% 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, 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 three billion dollars," 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 staying 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, efficiency and production and ultimately creates a happier client," said Ben Neuwirth, director of software implementation at Eastern. "We're off to a great start," Abe Bergman, managing partner at Eastern told staff at a recent meeting. "Let's keep that momentum going and raise the bar yet again in 2014."