Independent mortgage lender opens Madison Avenue office

Independently-owned, Massachusetts-based mortgage company Mortgage Master, has opened an office at 590 Madison Avenue, between 56th and 57th streets, to meet demand for financing in the Tri-State area, the company announced yesterday.

“The Manhattan housing market has been remarkably resilient,” said Marc Kunen, manager of Mortgage Master’s new Manhattan office. “Establishing a foothold in the city will allow us to compete as one of the lowest cost providers and avail those savings to our customers.”

The office actually opened in January, Kunen said, but the location just received its New York State banking license in the last few weeks, allowing it to open for business. The company can finance property purchases up to $6 million.

“There are an awful lot of people poised to buy right now,” Kunen said. The company, which is licensed in over 20 states with branches in nine, funded approximately $6 billion in 2010 and continues to expand its reach in the mortgage market.

There are currently 12 Mortgage Master employees working from the 2,500-square-foot Madison Avenue office, which is operated by office rental giant Regus. Kunen said that’s likely to increase quickly, to around 30 in the next 60 days.

“Our company has been successful because we open offices in markets like Manhattan where we know we are dealing with a stable, reliable community of borrowers,” said Mortgage Master CEO Leif Thomsen. “The housing market is growing in the metropolitan area, and we want to contribute to that growth by offering low cost loans to the community.” — Katherine Clarke