"Make no mistake, GPARENCY is the future of the mortgage industry"
Following his exit from Eastern Union, Ira Zlotowitz has announced the official launch of his new company, GPARENCY.
The new firm has raised $15 million in venture capital from more than 125 real estate professionals and strategic partners, including Customers Bank – representing the largest ever seed round in the commercial sector.
Zlotowitz, who previously served as president and CEO of Eastern Union, told the Commercial Observer that GPARENCY is already oversubscribed, with 45 banks interested in joining the platform alongside Customers Bank "We're a real revolution as we empower the banks to be able to market themselves directly to clients, with no need for any person in the middle," Zlotowitz said in the interview.
Read more: Eastern Union co-founder steps down as president and CEO
GPARENCY's direct-to-bank formula is designed to connect real estate investors and developers to banks without the need for a broker.
The company is offering a banking team of funding coordinators to underwrite, shop, and negotiate term sheets for a fee of $5,000 per deal. Once the transaction is finalized, the client will have the option to continue working with the bank or with GPARENCY for $500 per hour with a cap of 30 hours, which Zlotowitz described as a billing model used by lawyers and accountants.
"After studying the commercial mortgage market, we saw that 20% of borrowers exclusively use brokers, while 80% want to work directly with banks," Zlotowitz said. "Many think that broker fee structures for larger deals needed to be changed. This is exactly what we are doing at GPARENCY."
The GPARENCY team consists of 25 analysts, underwriters, researchers, software engineers, and debt and equity professionals. Zlotowitz said the next steps will be to hire a chief technology officer and add more software engineers and underwriters. GPARENCY will also eventually provide long-term plans for borrowers that will provide all data and tools directly to them through a subscription-based service called LANDSCAPE.
"Make no mistake, GPARENCY is the future of the mortgage industry," Zlotowitz said. "Today's commercial real estate investors are smarter, banks are more sophisticated and full-scale. One-size-fits-all mortgage brokerage firms belong to the past. Our transparency, technology, and flat-fee pricing structure will empower and free the industry to reach their goals more efficiently and successfully than ever before."
