Gallinger creating its own in-house mortgage company

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jan 05, 2001 by McChesney, Charles

CAMILLUS - Gallinger/GMAC Real Estate is expanding its operations with an in-house mortgage company. GreatWood, as the new company is to be called, is owned by the real-estate company.

The company will be run by David R. Baritell, vice president of Gallinger, John Osta, president of Gallinger, will serve as president of GreatWood.

Gallinger offices in Liverpool, North Syracuse, DeWitt, Hinsdale, and Manlius will each host one loan officer. Baritell says he has already hired four of the five loan officers. The four, he says, are either currently originating mortgages or are returning to the business.

Baritell says GreatWood is expecting to originate somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 mortgages a year starting out. That represents a little less than one-third of the home sales in which Gallinger is involved in a year on the buying side. Baritell says that Gallinger sales associates will not have to send buyers to GreatWood. "They are not required to pay homage to our mortgages," he says.

However, Baritell says, "we want to be their first choice."

Baritell explains that the new company was created as part of Gallinger's effort to provide "everything that a customer needs." He points to other new divisions at the company designed to handle various needs of home buyers before and after the sale. "It's not just about mortgages," Baritell says.

That said, Baritell adds that GreatWood will "cut the fat out of mortgages for the customer," and cut down on the wait for mortgage processing. While loan originators will be here, the mortgage operation with which they will work is in Atlanta and it, he says, "is a well-oiled operation." Baritell says loans can take a month and a half now. "We'd like to get that under 30 days consistently," he says. "It's just a matter of putting people, policy, and procedures in place."

Gallinger is not the first local real-estate operation to create an in-house mortgage company. Syracuse Securities, while a separate operation, is owned by the same people who own real-estate brokers Longley-Jones Associates, Inc. Timothy A. Smith, sales manager for Syracuse Securities, recalls that his company was created in 1963.

Syracuse Securities, Smith says, processes between 1,200 and 2,000 mortgages a year, making it a leader in the market. The company has seven "mortgage consultants," backed by a staff of more than 30.

Syracuse Securities people are not located in LongleyJones offices. Instead, says Smith, "a lot of our consultants are roaming." He adds that Longley-Jones referrals are responsible for only about 20 percent of Syracuse Securities' total business.

Baritell, a 20-year veteran with Gallinger, says that GreatWood will give him an opportunity to help lowincome buyers get mortgages. For many, he says, the complication in buying a home isn't paying the mortgage, it is saving up the down payment.