1. Refinancing a co-op’s underlying mortgage is no easy task – and
that’s before you have to deal with the banks. Whether borrowing
money, lowering debt service, or simply refinancing the remaining
principal of a matured commercial loan, co-op boards are faced
with many hard decisions that ultimately will affect and dictate
their and their neighbors / fellow shareholders’ path for, at the very
least, the next decade.
Getting your loan right comes down to three principles: Know your
building, know your needs, and know your professionals. Century
Management Services, Inc. understands these principles and stresses
the importance of long-term planning and budgeting. As a result of
this understanding, Century Management also proudly offers mort-
gage advisory and mortgage broker services. Now after many years
of consistent success within our own portfolio of cooperatives and
with interest rates that continue to remain at historic low levels, we
are now expanding our services beyond our core clients.
Century understands that mortgage service isn’t just about the
numbers, however, and encourages boards to carefully plan their
capital needs as a precursor to getting a new loan. Enumerating proj-
ects recently completed, useful life expectancy, and projects on the
horizon are stressed at Century because, above all, we’re property
managers. Our ability to understand what is coming down the pike,
understand how buildings actually function, and analyze project
history is key to helping us guide clients to the right loan product to
meet both short and long term capital needs. Our mortgage service
division looks at a loan from the property management and co-op’s
perspective as a direct result.
Once co-ops have analyzed their needs, planned accordingly, and
reach the point of seeking a loan, Century’s mortgage team comes
in to ensure the best attainable loan and rate. That team combines
talented professionals with banking backgrounds, certified public
accountants, and experts specializing in cooperative underlying
mortgage needs.
Century Management’s reputation of being one of the premier man-
agement companies is anchored by our extensive management port-
folio and strong presence in the New York Metropolitan Area, which
has helped establish many banking relationships. Our large volume of
yearly loan transactions enables us to obtain the best possible whole-
sale rates and easily monitor mortgage industry trends while locating
new sources of available products from the pool of competitive lenders.
We would be happy to meet with your board and/or financial
committee to review available opportunities to improve your co-
operative’s position.
Leading our mortgage team of professionals is our Director, Da-
vid J. Lipson. As a broker at Century since 1998, Mr. Lipson has
originated over 250 loans in excess of $700 million. As a sought
after industry mortgage expert, he has participated on the CNYC
Mortgage Panel at Baruch College for the past three years and has
also spoken at various NYARM Seminars offering his extensive
knowledge. He has authored several articles including “The ABC’s
of Refinancing” which was featured in The Federation of NY Hous-
ing Cooperative’s Newsletter. Mr. Lipson is regularly quoted in The
Real Estate Weekly, Habitat Magazine, and The Mann Report.
Mr. Lipson has been a Managing Director of Century since 1998
and is also a specialist in Commercial Leasing. Mr. Lipson attended
the School of Business at the University of Delaware and holds cer-
tificates from many real estate courses at New York University. He is
the recipient of the ABO special award for excellence in the category
of Financial Crisis Management in 1997, Habitat Magazine’s man-
agement Achievement Awards in 1997 (Quality of Life Category)
and 1998 (General Effectiveness), and was named Manager of the
Year in 2003 by the Federation of New York Housing Cooperatives.
David Lipson’s strong personal commitment to fundraising to help
children with cancer earned him NYARM’s Humanitarian of the
Year award and the Ronald McDonald House Hope Award in 2009.
David J. Lipson
Senior Managing Director
440 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1500
New York, NY 10001
Tel: 212-560-6400
dlipson@centuryny.com
www.centuryny.com
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Introduction To Century’s Mortgage Division
David J. Lipson, RAM – Direct Mortgage Division
MRM