Business Profile: A.S.A.P. Mortgage Corp., Cortlandt
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
Navigating through the steps of buying your first home can be intimidating.
Cortlandt resident Irene Amato has been working for years to help.
“Getting a home is one of the largest investments in a lifetime,” Amato said last week.
Amato is president of A.S.A.P. Mortgage Corp., which has offices on Route 202 and Route 6 in Cortlandt and another office in Yonkers. She opened her business in November 2001.
One of her major efforts is to help first-time homeowners. The company offers free seminars in various locations in the region twice a month. The “rent to own seminars” provides information on “why they need to stop renting,” Amato said.
The “first time homebuyers seminar” offers information on “all the information regarding the steps needed when you’re starting to look for a home,” Amato said.
Amato also offers a variety of other free seminars on various types of loans and private seminars are also available by appointment
Amato is a Bronx native who moved to Cortlandt 24 years ago.
A.S.A.P. does not stand for as soon as possible, Amato named her business after her and her husband Peter’s, children, Alexa, Stephanie and Peter.
Amato stressed that her company works with its customers well before they starting looking for a home. A person must find out what they can borrow before considering how much they can spend on a home, she said. Prospective homebuyers need to find out their “comfort zone” on how much they should spend, she said. “We do a financial checkup,” she said. “You may be able to afford it, but your lifestyle may not want you do that.”
Personal service is a trademark of her company, which is licensed in six states, Amato said. “You can see us. You can come in. You can meet with us,” she said. “I’m always available”
The recent housing crisis hurt many Americans because “they got placed in loans that weren’t right for them and nobody took the time to analyze their current situation and see what they really could afford,” Amato said.
Amato said her passion for the mortgage business began when she was 15, handing out keys for a realty company. “I love the real estate industry,” she said. “I’ve always been an entrepreneur.”
“I’m very blessed with all my employees. They are very dedicated,” Amato said. “They go above and beyond and everyone that works here has the same passion and dedication and loyalty that I do to the consumers. So we really work as a great team.”
One of her goals is to open new offices in Manhattan and Putnam and Rockland counties, Amato said.
Prior to owning her company Amato worked for GMAC Motors, doing financing work.
Amato said she decided to open her own business because “I had so much passion and dedication that I wanted to put it into something I could create rather than put it into a business that maybe didn’t recognize the consumers the way I wanted them to. Or didn’t do thing I felt were ethically correct.”
Amato offered the most important piece of advice for those considering a home purchase for the first time. “Make sure you’re researching the person that you’re using, the original loan originator. Make sure they’re licensed to do mortgages and always ask questions.”
For more information about A.S.A.P. Mortgage Corp. call 914-736-9230, send an e-mail to irene@asapmortgageinc.com or visit https://www.asapmortgageinc.com.
