NEW YORK, NY - Hunt Mortgage Group, a commercial real estate lender, announced today that that it has opened an office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located at 110 SE 6th Street on the 17th Floor. Bill Papagno has been hired as Director to lead the local effort and will focus on sourcing and originating small balance loans under the Freddie Mac Small Balance Loan program for clients in: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama. He will report to Owen Breheny, Director.
Under the new program launched last October, Hunt Mortgage Group provides small balance loans between $1-5 million to borrowers nationwide. Hunt was one of three lenders initially chosen by Freddie Mac to pilot this program offering the Agency’s new Small Business Lending product.
“Our decision to open a local office in Fort Lauderdale is in direct response to strong market dynamics,” commented Rick Warren, Senior Managing Director at Hunt Mortgage Group. “A local presence will enable us to better serve the unique needs of developers and owners in the Southeast. We believe that having mortgage finance experts in the area who know the market, and the players, is invaluable.”
Papagno comes to Hunt Mortgage Group from Marcus & Millichap where he was a Senior Director. Before that he was with Washington Mutual Bank where he was a Senior Loan Consultant.
“Bill is a seasoned financial service executive with a solid background originating and closing deals in the local commercial real estate market,” added Breheny. “We are excited he has joined our team and we are confident he will greatly extend the geographic reach of our capabilities in the region.”
Papagno earned his degree in finance from California State University-Long Beach.
About Hunt Mortgage Group: Hunt Mortgage Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hunt Companies, Inc., is a specialty finance company focused on financing commercial real estate nationwide. The Company specializes in financing multifamily properties, but also finances: affordable housing, manufactured housing, healthcare/senior living, office, retail, industrial, and self-storage facilities throughout the United States. It offers Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA and its own proprietary loan products. The Company maintains a servicing portfolio of $11 billion. Headquartered in New York City, Hunt Mortgage Group is comprised of 136 employees located in 15 locations throughout the United States. To learn more about Hunt Mortgage Group, visit www.huntmortgagegroup.com