New jersey mortgage broker

For the sixth time in the last seven years, Melissa Cohn, chairman/CEO of Manhattan Mortgage Company, is America's top residential mortgage broker.

Bolstered by last year's refinance boom, Cohn earned yet another number one ranking in Mortgage Originator Magazine's annual nationwide survey by personally closing over a billion worth of loans ($1,055,526,332 to be exact) in 2002. In all, she brokered an amazing 2,099 separate mortgage transactions. By contrast, when she last won the title in 2000, she closed 821 mortgages worth $471.8 million.

"Just goes to show you what you can accomplish when you surround yourself with a great support staff and you're willing to work an average of 75 hours a week," stated Cohn.

She also attributed last year's billion dollar achievement to a number of other factors, including expanding her company's marketing efforts and enhancing her overall technology capabilities, which allowed her to e-mail applications to clients.

Equally impressive, five additional mortgage loan officers from the Manhattan Mortgage Company--Jeffrey Appel, Janis Bronstein, Beth Divney, Bruce Maasback, and Marc Sokobin--placed in the Top 200 of the Mortgage Originator survey.

Not surprisingly, Manhattan Mortgage, founded in 1985, enjoyed its biggest year ever in 2002, topping $5 billion in mortgage volume as it reinforced its position as the New York metropolitan area's leading residential mortgage brokerage.

With Manhattan's co-op, condominium and townhouse markets active and her Hamptons (Water Mill, East Hampton and Westhampton), Westchester (Purchase), Long Island (Jericho) and New Jersey (Hackensack and Freehold) offices busier than ever, Ms. Cohn believes that the best is still ahead for her company.

"We're certainly capable of bettering our performance, given our growing number of offices, our advances in cyberspace technology, our improved website, our expanded staff and the number of attractively priced mortgage products currently available," she stated.

Committed to building Manhattan Mortgage into a financial services giant, Cohn says she is most proud of her company's extraordinary in-house real estate and financial expertise as well as its emphasis on continually elevating its service capabilities. The company today boasts a staff of 175 including over 75 seasoned mortgage loan officers.