Expanding mortgage firm grows through focus on service

Real Estate Weekly,  June 24, 1998  

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Six years ago, Schnall founded New York Mortgage Corp. (NYMC) and has applied his energetic, put-the-customer-first management style to the growing firm.

Now, for the fourth time in its short history, NYMC is expanding. The firm is currently in the process of negotiating a lease for new office space located in the prime Grand Central area of Manhattan. The luxurious new office is more than double the size of the firm's present location.

NYMC has also established an office located on-site at the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company in Roseland, NJ. NYMC is handling the company's complete real estate financing program. Furthermore, NYMC is aggressively marketing its affinity programs, and has become the preferred mortgage company for a wide assortment of national associations, as well as major corporations.

Schnall has NYMC on an ambitious growth track in several diversified ways. After establishing itself as a leader in residential mortgages, NYMC began a commercial division about a year ago. The firm has also started-up a division to handle B to D loans. What's more, NYMC has extended its market reach on a global scale by pursuing negotiations with a large worldwide company to handle that firm's international real estate business.

The secret to NYMC's success? "Superior service," says Schnall. "We do much more than simply move the deal through... we're involved in every aspect of a real estate transaction, every step of the way, from origination to closing."

That level of service, more than anything else, has been the driving force behind NYMC's growth during the past six years. Already in 1998, the firm has projected a 57 percent increase in the amount of loans originated versus 1997. Just recently, NYMC expanded its market reach by opening offices in Florida and West Essex, NJ. The firm is also licensed in Georgia and has licenses pending in Pennsylvania, Illinois, California and South Carolina.

Another reason for NYMC's successful growth is the valuable relationships the firm has forged with dozens of local, regional and national lenders, making it possible for NYMC to offer some of the best rates and terms possible.

Currently, the firm is working toward implementing computerized loan origination. With this technology, NYMC loan officers will be able to take all loan applications directly on their computers. The loan information will then be electronically downloaded for processing, significantly speeding the entire process. While it seems impossible in the mortgage industry, NYMC is actually heading toward the paperless office. The bottom line is, service will be enhanced substantially.

"Our goal is no different than the buyer, the seller or the lender... we want the deal to go through," says Schnall. "By expanding our resources and committing them completely to every real estate transaction, we dramatically increase the likelihood of being successful."

Schnall began his business career working two jobs while studying for his BS in Accounting. He was then recruited by Price Waterhouse, where he worked for a year before joining IPI, a start-up mortgage brokerage company based in Manhattan. Within just one year, Schnall says he became a partner at IPI, overseeing the firm's sales and processing efforts, as well as personally originating "more than half of the firm's loan volume." Eager to launch his own company, Schnall then left IPI to found New York Mortgage Corp.

NYMC has since grown to more than 35 employees. The staff includes a diverse group of professionals with backgrounds in law, accounting, and real estate finance. Each NYMC employee is dedicated to the firm's overall philosophy of unmatched service -working extremely hard on every client loan that passes throughout. The hard work has paid off handsomely, resulting in NYMC boasting a near-perfect approval rate.

At the present time, NYMC has plans to continue ambitious expansion of both its residential and commercial mortgage businesses - never losing sight of its commitment to superior service. Steven Schnall wouldn't have it any other way."

COPYRIGHT 1998 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning