Glasslake’s new wave campaign kicks off

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After a summer road trip to explore expanded geographical regions, Michael Forshee’s Glasslake Funding kicks off a new fall campaign to underscore that it's the new wave in lending

THERE ARE deals to be made today. “It’s our go-to slogan,” said Michael Forshee, president of Glasslake Funding, during a recent interview, with the slogan displayed behind him at his Toronto office. “That’s the essence of what we do – work the deals other lenders may overlook and find the good in the deal.” Live to the broker network this past January, Glasslake Funding looks at lending differently from more traditional sources. With rising interest rates and a tighter market, it is harder for some borrowers, who do not fall into neat columns, to access the capital they need. That’s why Glasslake looks at deals differently.

Glasslake Funding ULC is a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of Bayview Asset Management LLC – an investment management firm with $15 billion in AUM as of December 31, 2022, focused on investments in mortgage and consumer credit, including whole loans, asset-backed securities, mortgage servicing rights, and other credit-related assets. Founded in 2022, Glasslake Funding serves the investment needs of seasoned investor clients through commercial and residential lending. Glasslake is a balance-sheet lender with two key lines of business – a correspondent business for third-party origination funding, and a wholesale business that is direct-to-clients through the broker channel.

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“We believe the private market needs more consistent and reliable funding options”

Michael Forshee, Glasslake

Forshee gave the example of a recent property deal. “There was a FICO score of 900, and we saw that there was some non-traditional income attached. The borrower was self-employed, and even with spectacular credit … they can’t go anywhere else.” But for Glasslake, it was the start of a great deal, in a situation where others fear to tread.

The company launched a new campaign in the market this fall, promoting the message “Glasslake Funding: The New Wave of Lending.” “It’s more than just a catchy message,” Forshee noted. “It really encompasses everything we are and the influence we have in the market. We’re doing things differently from other alternative lenders, and our focus is on setting the market, not just playing in it.” Forshee saw that there was not enough sustainable funding in

“The products we’ve created are tight enough, from a credit perspective, to ensure that sustainable funding is there, but wide enough so that they're not products that fit in the regulated entity,” Forshee said. There are economic headwinds in the form of affordability and rising rates, and he said that “we see that as an opportunity because of the way our product is formulated” in a well-funded, albeit non-regulated, space. “We believe the private market needs more consistent and reliable funding options,” Forshee said. This is a niche that Glasslake fills. The company recently came across a $2 million alternative commercial deal, which some private lenders would be wary of. “It’s really just finding those gaps on the product side,” Forshee said, “but tying it tight enough where that funding is there long-term.”

He pointed out that, while other private lenders were busy focusing on one year or six months’ worth of funding, Glasslake comes up with “three- and five-year money.” They’ve also recently launched one- and two-year terms to provide an even wider array of options for the brokers they work with. Glasslake also has servicing fees that are “exceptionally reasonable for the client,” unlike their competitors. “Renewal fees are a lot lower. We want to always do right by the client – we’re not interested in putting them in a situation that would be detrimental to their financial future,” he said.

Forshee made the ultimate Canadian summer business trip to ramp up the fall campaign. “We’re launching in all these different markets,” he said. And at every meeting during those four weeks, everyone always asked about the brand name. He explained with a smile that “we’re taking the chop out of the underwriting process,” and are instead focused on smooth and simple funding. “We take pride in sharing our vision,” Forshee said, in part because it “ignites further conversation. We have this exciting new brand with a story that looks different from everyone else’s.”

Their initial focus was on Ontario, hitting markets that may have been overlooked by more traditional lenders, like Thunder Bay, Sudbury, and Sault Ste. Marie. His tour also took him to British Columbia, including Vancouver, the Okanagan, Vancouver Island, and the Lower Mainland. Then there was Alberta – Edmonton and Calgary were naturally on the list, with their hot rental markets. He also touched down in Lethbridge, and hoped to make it to Medicine Hat. “The group that we met in Lethbridge said, ‘We’re basically forgotten about on the alternative side, so just to see you is great,’” he recalled.

Glasslake catches the new wave in lending

A summer road trip

Published 18 Sep 2023

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“We’re taking the chop out of the underwriting process. We take pride in sharing our vision”

Michael Forshee, Glasslake

“We’re doing things differently from other alternative lenders, and our focus is on setting the market, not just playing in it”

Michael Forshee, Glasslake

Forshee hastens to add that more traditional lenders certainly have their place: “I’m for regulation to a certain point,” he said. But he sees Glasslake filling a “missed middle,” where they are not doing pure equity deals and charging huge servicing fees on the back end, nor are they asking for reams of paperwork. “I believe we’re Canada’s only institutionalized private lender that uses a balance sheet, as opposed to raising money in the exempt market, or other forms of securitization. So our credit balances are relevant. And it allows us to create that sustainable funding mechanism, by getting enough insight

Talking with other private lenders, most seemed to favour the tight inner-city market, where, in the event of delinquency, the problem can be solved quickly through legal action. “We’re more of the mindset, ‘How do we keep the client on the books?’ And if that’s our mindset, why would we discriminate against certain areas?” Forshee asked. He likes to maintain that keep-in-touch mentality alive back at the home office, with one of his favourite acronyms being UP-UP, or “Underwriters Pick Up Phones.” “Sometimes it takes a conversation to sort out what’s going on,” he said.

the market, and a growing segment of borrowers who were not finding what they needed from more traditional lenders.

into the client that’s a little more than private market, but a little less than the regular, regulated market,” Forshee explained.

UP-UP – Underwriters Pick Up Phones

Contact sales at https://glasslake.ca/contact/

Alexandra Abate, underwriter (437-537-5852) Daniel Gafijczuk, senior commercial underwriter (437-537-5872) Aryan Mehta, senior underwriter (437-537-5864) Nancy Ribeiro, senior underwriter (437-537-5911) Krishna Balasubramanian, senior commercial underwriter (437-537-5895)

Subject property: Residential and commercial Credit: Min. 620 Loan amount: $200,000 to $3 million LTV: Up to 80% Terms: Up to seven years Amortization: Interest only or 30 to 40 years Occupancy: Owner-occupied and investment

Key features of Glasslake deals

A look at some of the details behind the company’s lending approach to purchases and refinancing: