Thoughts on becoming a Mortgage Broker with Eastern Union?

It’s worth a shot depending on where you live and what your goals are. Who are you cold calling? As an MLO most of your leads will come from agent referrals.

We, the real estate agents, meet a lead at an open house (for example) that wants to buy in the area, they just started looking and they’re open to suggestions for where to apply for home financing.

If you’re like my preferred lender, you have years of experience. I trust you to make the loan happen for my clients at the best rate possible for them, and I keep sending my clients to you.

Since you’re starting out you have a lot of networking and groundwork to cover. Once you get your first deal under contract, there’s gonna be a lot of roadblocks and fires to put out before you get that holy “clear to close” from the underwriter. This type of uncertainty is tied to your paycheck and it’s the nature of the business.

Are you ready to work with people and work in their best interest? Some clients are nice, some clients are total assholes. Can you work with that? Doing right by your clients is the #1 way to survive.

Doing it right, you can make your 6-figures and drive that E-class to Whole Foods. But not before you grind it out for a few years, possibly wasting time that could be better spent finishing your degree or getting a job in the corporate world.

Lots to consider man. As I tell the new agents in my office, you won’t know if this business is for you until you close your first 3 deals.

May as well try it, especially if you are learning and it's improving your cold calling. I've never heard of Eastern Union, so hopefully they have a presence in NY or whereever you're calling into Doing this will help you get to the next thing (if it's not thi).

Having done CRE Sales Brokerage as well as Mortgage Brokerage, my opinion is that the Mortgage call is easier to make (they both require persistance). In the mortgage call, you are essentially offering someone money and in Sales you are essentially asking them if they want you to sell their property. I found that offering something that people want makes for an easier call.

I don't know how they do it at EU, but hopefully you're involved in the loan underwriting and have at least some contact with the lenders. Talking to the lenders will help you talk to your customers. The best brokers can match the deal with a short list of lenders and are not sending out packages to every lender in town..

Good luck!

This is good experience, you will either love it or hate it, tends to be the case with these type of gigs. People will respect it, even in the institutional real estate world, as it is not easy work.

Whether it really is a great long-term career, hard to say, I guess it is for some. If you are really good, you can make a lot of money, but it is hard core sales. For many, they realize why they want to do institutional real estate, i.e. the 'principal' or 'buy' side, vs. being in brokerage (mortgage or CRE).

There is of course the semi-hybrid world of REIB/IS, but really only at the top-tier does that have the institutional feel. So regardless, this internship will give you good exp and help you figure out what you are best at!

Hey guys, thanks for all the support, definitely reassuring. Heard from you all and through networking that brokerage is just a pure grind...

EU is luckily based out of Brooklyn and mainly works with NY based local banks. The contacts we got though as interns are a total pandora's box that are "shit leads" (Ira's own words) that are throughout the entire country. Got 500 contacts and he expects us to get 6 deals in process by the time we finish at the end of August in total which I think is pretty fair goal to obtain. It's going to probably suck but it builds character haha.

Basically my script goes in the call is "hey it's x from Eastern Union, hope you have been doing well . The purpose of this call is to relay information to that our firm has started charging a quarter of a point for agency refinancing, do you have any deals on the table right now?" Something along those lines that are to the point and being upfront/honest right away. I'm going to get hung up in the first ten seconds but hey at least I'm shooting my shot

Have you guys had any crazy cold calling from your experience?

Anyway thanks guys for these comments, much appreciated

Maybe try to get on David Stanton's live stream?

But on a serious note, talk to some of the more prolific brokers on the team like Michael Wyne. If I were you I would try to migrate over time to a larger shop like CBRE/JLL(and consequently HFF)/Meridian etc.

I hear unless you are orthodox its hard to move up at EU, but that's just heresay so take it as you wish. Take this time to try to learn as much as you can. Read as much as you can about CRE and learn about the sectors the big players, etc,

I’d says EU is not thought of very well. Decent amount of biz, least intelligent in the room by far. Cannot imagine it’s a decent learning environment. Painful to interact with vs really any other group

EU is a little bit of a sweatshop. High volume, low fee shop. Their new multifamily group is charging a quarter point for agency loans. Guessing they are trying to make up for it in volume. Its a decent first job in real estate though and developing sales skills can be useful. I would imagine you will develop more sales skills than real estate finance skills there. Use resource like adventures in CRE to develop modeling skills on your own so that you can be well rounded.

Hey guys, thanks for sharing more on this about EU/ women in the field!

Did my 20 first cold calls today, was super nerve wracking at first and most people will just probably answer annoyed which is understandable. Trying to develop a better pitch that doesn't waste their time by getting quickly to my purpose but also trying to keep it semi personable. Just trying to keep a positive attitude and embrace the suck. I didn't realize until now how much a pain cold calling is but it is helpful to thicken the skin and get used to feeling what rejection is like

Ira is an a great salesman and amazing resource to have in your pocket. Learn as much as you can from the guy.

In cold calling the key is to be a PERSON. You are speaking with people and whatever it is that you can do to communicate you have a personality and are not mindlessly going through a script on every call will lead to better quality calls and more success.

Example situation: you’re day is spent calling Oklahoma owners. Mention the tiger king show and ask if they’ve been the guy’s park, they’ll all get a chuckle out of it.

Hey everyone quick update here with the Eastern Union gig: -cold called 75-100 calls a day -shifted my focus to LinkedIn and Facebook groups -the leads there were WAY warmer -originated a $44M acquisition loan in FL (didn't close though seller accepted another bid) -orginated and still working on a $12M acquisition loan in FL -Had a call with Ira, he offered me to stay with the company even though I technically failed at bringing in 6 leads because he likes my ability to network and build relationships presence on LinkedIn and wants me to do what David Stanton is doing (focusing on building rapport while still having the chance to bring in business in spite of me "not being a hound on the phone")

The purpose here is not to brag, it's to share the trial and era of what works for some and what works for others. I'm going to continue to focus on what I can directly control and I'm still finding the fine line between being professional vs. overly aggressive to get things moving and bringing in hot leads. That's the pain point I'm facing currently, but anyway just trying to make it work.

One last thing, if I don't get a deal under contract from my time there in July to August, is that still okay? Or may that be an indicator that I wasn't amazing in sales/ not aggressive enough? I know CRE is for the long game however 6 newbies already put a deal under contract so naturally I'm trying to figure out what I'm missing/were those newbies being so aggressive that their reputation was at stake with some prospects?

I figured as such

I enjoyed reading all the comments and many of the people writing about Eastern Union are speculating on what they believe or think exists at EU.  It's time to stop listening to those who think they know and start listening to someone who does know - me.  I'm there on the ground floor moving up.  At EU, it doesn't matter who you are or how old you are or if you are male or female.  We have men and women, Jews and non-Jews, orthodox Jews and non-observant Jews and everyone is treated equally and with the utmost of respect.  What gets noticed is hard work - people who are making the calls and participating in the daily zoom meetings and asking questions when they don't know something.  The thing I like the best is that we are challenged to think like the boss and if someone at the top of the food chain is not providing us with what we need we are expected to treat them as if we were the boss.  This applies to the founders of the company, who are the ones who have told us that they expect it of us and have repeated it over and over.  Another critical point is that we have mentors who are with us every step of the way to guide us as we move up within the organization.  There are also incentives every month to challenge us to move up and many of these incentives are geared for everyone and not just the top producers.  Speaking of top producers, they are available to answer our questions and at certain of the entry levels we have weekly zoom meetings with top producers and everyone at the company up to Ira are accessible and respond to our emails in a timely fashion.  I wouldn't say that the company is perfect but when someone offers suggestions on how to improve they listen - even to a beginner, and respond in a non-defensive way.  I know, I've made suggestions that they are working to implement.  If you are willing to put in your work and make your phone calls every day and willing to listen to constructive criticism and take direction and strong supervision then Eastern Union may be the place for you.  

Here's my personal takeaway - being a jr loan originator at EU - you're expected to make 100-150 calls a day because w simple math that's the only way to get through to a percent of clients - and of those clients, those that will actually give you a deal. Ira and the rest of the team at EU are giving up their time, and actually spending good money on those that show that they can do this. If you make money, EU makes money, so there's actually a two way street for incentives. Ira gives plenty of incentives mind you. The best part of 2-3 months, is that it gives you (and I) a chance to learn abut the industry with zero commitments, and yet you may just like it and be successful enough to  to stay on. I personally believe there's a lot to like about EU. Everyone at EU is on the same level, and are treated with as much respect as the next person (from Sr UW down to a S0.5 (first 3 days). Again to reiterate, I am very thankful to Ira and Abe and everyone at EU for giving me the chance and opportunity to learn and grow in the CRE field, and I believe that if you give it a try (of course you need to realize it's a commission job), you will not regret it at all. Salary as I just said is a commission (nice percent) but there are already talks of draws starting earlier than 3 months in, so there's really just upside and barely any downside.

~ 3rd month EU Loan Originator

I am a current Loan Originator at Eastern Union, and I wanted to chime in here with my thoughts. 

I came into this business from a tech sales job. Although my previous job payed me a salary, I did not make nearly enough for the amount of work I was doing. I was also not respected in my high growth tech startup because I was young and they very much told me to STAY IN MY LANE. 

I saw Eastern Union was hiring, and since I am confident in my cold calling skills and sales prowess, I applied and started working. Instantly, you have access to Ira Zlotowitz and the executives. At the start, you immediately feel supported and respected. Then if you can PRODUCE and bring in DEALS, you are treated like a senior at the company instantly, no politics. They do not look at your age, your experience or anything like that. They promote from within and really invest in growing their people which is rare in this job market. 

Is it an easy job? No, I would say it is much more difficult than any job I've ever had, but the tradeoff is respect and limitless earning potential. You have respect and autonomy at Eastern Union and you know the executives are behind you every step of the way. Also, you have the potential to make millions and I have already seen a good amount of income from their draw system and have deals closing this month so, it was worth the risk for me. 

Oh, also, I am not Jewish and I have moved up in the company quickly. 

So bottom line, if you have hustle and want to jump into a lucrative industry and have support, join up. Either way you will learn an incredible amount about sales and real estate. 

That is my two cents. 
 

Looks like EU hired a new PR executive. Three fresh accounts commenting on a somewhat stale thread with their "personal takeaways" LOL

You run a sweatshop call center staffed with a ton of unexperienced people who have to perform to outrageous quotas or be cut. This is what damage control looks like folks

Eastern Union is a great place to work. There is money to be made for those who work hard. I also appreciate that the company is very honest. Nothing dishonest is tolerated in the company. Ira's zoom calls are a great way to get amazing advice and access to the present of the company. His guidance has already changed my attitude when it comes to selling. I would highly recommend it to those people that are willing to put in the work. 

I work at Eastern Union

Ira, does a shop of EU size need to stoop to this level and have fake accounts post positive reviews? This is embarrassing particularly since you are brokering a lot of loans and you have a niche ( bottom of the barrel pricing) and you do it well, so you dont need to do this lol.