Chuck Cefalu has been involved in the Real Estate and Financial Services Industry for the past thirty-three (33) years. Previously, Mr. Cefalu worked as a Financial Advisor for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management implementing wealth management strategies for his Clients.
Mr. Cefalu has extensive experience in mortgage banking; having underwritten, funded and traded individual residential, commercial and land mortgages and portfolios on the secondary market with institutional clients that included consumer finance companies, community banks, insurance companies, private equity funds, REIT’s and private investors.
Mr. Cefalu developed an extensive national sales force with multiple branch offices for a specialty finance company. He developed a national direct marketing campaign later adding a tele-sales division thereby creating substantial growth. Charles was also responsible for managing the collection and servicing of a large mortgage portfolio together with sales and the disposition of foreclosed real estate (REO) on a national basis.
Mr. Cefalu also owned a Title Insurance Agency for twelve (12) years handling residential and commercial closings for mortgage lenders and borrowers and gained a keen sense of the importance of title insurance and issues that arise with property transactions.
In addition to his financial services background, Mr. Cefalu also personally negotiated and handled large commercial investment property transactions as a Director for KW Commercial and routinely performed comprehensive financial analysis and due diligence on each property to better serve his clients. Mr. Cefalu has also developed and managed various real estate projects and multi-family apartment units.
Mr. Cefalu graduated from Union College with a BS in Civil Engineering. He has previously held securities and insurance licenses when he was a Financial Advisor and is currently a Licensed Real Estate Broker and a Certified Real Estate Instructor in the State of New York.
Mr. Cefalu believes his engineering, finance, securities, insurance, construction and real estate background make him uniquely situated when analyzing loan submissions and evaluating renovation or development projects.
Mr. Cefalu is committed to Community Service and believes in volunteerism and giving back to the Community. He previously has served on a number of non- profit boards, served as a delegate to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR), served on the board of a local Realtor Association and was the Treasurer of a Business Improvement District (BID). He is also a proud sponsor of the Ameristar Financial Little League baseball team.
Mr. Cefalu, through Ameristar Financial Corporation, is a member of the American Association of Private Lenders (“AAPL”). Mr. Cefalu has attained the designation of Certified Fund Manager through AAPL.