An accurate measure of any company’s strengths is best told by its customers. Consumers trust other consumers, and it’s a fact that Cambridge Realty Capital’s Founder and President Jeffrey Davis doesn’t take lightly. “We are serious about doing right by our clients,” he stated, although that commitment goes deeper than merely a desire to get positive consumer reviews. It comes from an authentic ambition to serve the client and the senior care industry as a whole. This includes telling clients the facts, even if it isn’t necessarily what the client wants to hear. In fact, “telling it like it is,” is just one of four of Cambridge’s greatest strengths, all as identified by Cambridge clients:
1) Cambridge Staff Members Are Always Accessible. When dealing with a large financial institution, individual clients are just one of hundreds, or even thousands of others. Not only does each loan officer deal with multiple clients at once, the client usually has to deal with several contacts within the institution. Often, each of those contacts only deals with one small piece of the lending pie and has no idea what the rest of the pie actually looks like, making it difficult for clients to get timely answers to questions.
“We have always strived to do things differently here,” says Davis of Cambridge’s ability to connect directly and quickly with its clients. “Each staff member makes him or herself readily available to their individual clients, not just in returning phone calls and answering questions, but being proactive at initiating contact from our end,” he states, adding, “Being responsive is an important concept. Also, making certain your clients are well-informed can make a huge difference in the way things turn out.”
Richard Blaylock is the owner of Blaylock Properties of Dallas, Texas. Blaylock worked with Cambridge in the past. More specifically, he dealt directly with Davis and commented that Davis’ “response to questions was always timely and professional. The staff is very committed and knowledgeable, and they possess a can-do attitude.”
This was also Ben Parsons’ experience with Cambridge Realty Capital. Parsons, who is General Counsel and Vice President of Continuing Healthcare Solutions of Ohio, said, “They [Cambridge staff] were responsive and organized.” Parsons’ primary processing contacts were Vice President Anthony Marino and Managing Director Sampada D’Silva, and Parsons was impressed by how “readily available” they were whenever the need to communicate arose. Says Eric Rothner, CEO of Hunter Management and CEO of Extended Care Consulting, LLC, of Evanston, IL and a long-time associate of Cambridge, “No matter where they are, Andy Erkes [President] and Jeff Davis find ways to make themselves available.”
2) Cambridge Tells It Like It Is. In an effort to attract business, some institutions may paint a rosy picture of what a client can expect, sometimes before they even look at the details of client’s situation and needs. By the time the client realizes he can’t get the deal he wants, he’s already invested weeks or even months in a fruitless process.
There’s no denying that there is paperwork to fill in and hoops to jump through, no matter who the financial provider is. However, according to Arnie Goldberg, Owner and Former Executive Director of The Wealshire of Lincolnshire, IL, such is not the case with Cambridge. “Many lenders ask you to do a lot of paperwork up-front but still aren’t able to deliver at the end. With Cambridge it’s not an iffy thing. You get an accurate assessment quickly and know that if you satisfy the requirements you’ll get the desired result.”
Manny Binstock, Former Senior Vice President of The Kensington Group of Morton Grove, IL echoes this experience. “With Cambridge there’s not a lot of suspense. You’ll know very quickly if something is go or no-go.”
Even the most seasoned of professionals agree that Cambridge shines when it comes to being up-front with clients. The Cambridge staff is very aware of timing issues, very instructive and very responsive.
Perhaps Andrew Delman, owner of Deerfield, IL-based National Preservation Housing Partners, sums it up best: “[Cambridge] doesn’t promise what the borrower wants to hear but what it can get done.”
3) Cambridge Promotes Realistic Expectations. This might be considered the flipside of the same “telling it like it is” coin. “It’s not in our or our clients’ best interest to make promises we can’t keep or to exaggerate a potential outcome,” notes Davis. Being able to provide a client with a realistic picture of what he or she can expect comes from years of experience, savvy underwriting and a comprehensive understanding of HUD.
Tom O’Niones agrees. The Founder and President of Transcendent Healthcare of Evansville, IL states: “Cambridge has an excellent reputation in the industry. The company is exceptionally knowledgeable, resourceful and systematic and it delivers on promises.” Daniel Maguire, Vice President of the Sandy River Company of Portland, ME asserts: “Cambridge is widely regarded as an exceptionally knowledgeable industry leader. And the company’s professional staff has a remarkable understanding of what will and will not fit within HUD guidelines. In working with the firm, we never encountered a servicing problem. And we’ve never had an accounting issue with any of our loans.”
4) With Cambridge, You Deal Directly With The Decision-Makers. With other institutions, a borrower may work with a loan officer who must run every request up the chain of command for approval, or wait for a committee to commence and render a decision.
This is not the case with Cambridge Realty Capital. Lawrence Yablong, President of LaSalle Realty Inc. of Chicago, IL found this to be the case when he worked with Cambridge. “What we’ve noticed is that other lenders tend to be more bureaucratic and respond to our needs by committee. With Cambridge there is mutual respect and straightforward answers to any questions we might have.”
Denny Howell, Founder and CEO of Howell Investment Finance in Ames, lowa, worked with Cambridge Vice Presidents Anthony Marino and Zach Scardina. He found them to be both accessible and knowledgeable. “Cambridge is not a large company that takes forever to get an answer from someone in another office across the country,” Howell contended. “With Cambridge, I often hear back the same day or the next day and quite often, I’m talking directly to the decision maker. Cambridge is very, very good at what they do.”
