Looking In

June 9, 2025 by

In my role as chief production officer for conventional multifamily at Lument, I oversee our conventional production efforts and am responsible for managing all of our Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac relationships. Previously, I oversaw our internal bullpen—which offers analytical support for our production teams—and I’m one of the business leads for new tech initiatives. During my 19 years at Lument and its predecessor companies, I’ve witnessed many changes both within our company and the commercial real estate industry as a whole. I have learned a tremendous amount along the way.

I really enjoy interacting with coworkers not only internally, but also our Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac counterparts—I like being an external-facing member of the firm. Having the opportunity to do both is a fun part of the job. I’ve been able to mentor some junior colleagues, just as there were senior leaders who mentored me and whose guidance I’m incredibly grateful for—like Steve Cox, Bill Hyman, and others.

There’s also not a day that goes by without a problem to solve, which keeps things interesting. You’re always finding ways to help people arrive at solutions and pull deals together. It’s not instant gratification by any means, but ultimately, it’s really satisfying to see your impact when those deals close successfully.

Lument’s corporate culture has grown more collaborative over the years—there’s definitely more of a camaraderie now than when I first started. Thanks to Jim Flynn’s and Tyler Griffin’s leadership, as well as that of the management committee, there’s been a concerted effort to foster a collegial environment, which makes it a great place to work.

Speaking of, my nearly two-decade career here is an accomplishment that I’m proud of. Over the last couple years, a large part of my role has been solidifying our relationships with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which has been a huge win for us as a company. We’ve had some big wins with both agencies lately, and I’m proud to have been part of those.

Meanwhile, my role as a resource for my colleagues has also been meaningful. Whether it’s a small victory in helping someone to engage a deal, or a huge win in assisting a coworker to close one, I don’t take any of those successes for granted. I built out our bullpen—it’s something near and dear to me, and I’m very protective of the talented people on that team. When I see them succeed, that makes me prouder than my own successes.

I’m impressed by how Lument encourages entrepreneurial thinking. The company has changed and grown exponentially during my time here, and people aren’t siloed whatsoever—there are so many different parts of the firm to get involved with. If I can help expose colleagues, especially my direct reports, to a wider audience, that’s a win.

If there’s a piece of advice I wish someone had given me when I was coming up through the ranks, it’s the value of being patient. There’s so much to be said for taking your time to learn—and also for going out of your way to establish relationships. You can’t wait for people to come to you—you have to be willing to move beyond your comfort zone. There are many things I’ve had to do in my career that I’d never had any experience in—technology, for example. I’m not a tech person, but I’ve helped lead a number of initiatives that we’ve rolled out over the years. There are real benefits to taking on new responsibilities.

One thing a lot of people might not know about me is that I’m die-hard Kentucky Wildcats fan, having gone to college there. I’ve even dragged my wife and my daughter, who’s in sixth grade, over to London to see them play. While my wife thinks it is somewhat unreasonable, you could say I have an emotional attachment to the team.

May 6, 2025 by

Discussing book recommendations with a finance-focused audience is nearly impossible without touching on Michael Lewis. His work often examines market dislocation, disruption, or sometimes just a good ol’ Wall Street story: Liars Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short. Even those who are rushed for time have probably at least caught a movie or two. However, there is no movie for my favorite Michael Lewis book.

Lewis wrote The Undoing Project well after all the titles listed above, but the book’s theme – human judgment and the fallacies thereof – forms the basis of much of his work. Specifically, The Undoing Project explores the groundbreaking work of psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, two friends who, while individually brilliant, demonstrated that they were far more influential together. Their work on human judgment biases and heuristics (mental shortcuts that help us make quick decisions) fundamentally changed how we think about decision-making and behavioral economics. While this story delves into their lives, contributions, and our shortcomings as humans, there is an underlying theme that should not be ignored – the power of collaboration. Each of these men could have been respected in their own right, but it was not until they were together that they changed how we think about thinking.

Though our line of work arms us with as much data as a Bloomberg terminal can provide, how often do we make a judgment call on an asset, market, or even the economy without fully accounting for the biases that shape our decisions? In the context of data-driven decision-making, it’s not just about the data itself; it’s also about how we interpret and use it. Our ingrained instincts (or biases) often shape our understanding of the numbers in ways we’re unaware of. This is where heuristics come into play, for better or for worse.

Many heuristics are now well known. There is anchoring: We were able to secure an insurance waiver on an acquisition in 2020, and now, as a result, we feel confident that we can do the same on the refi. There is availability: Remembering that CMA recently reported a loan default in Charlotte makes us more critical of the Charlotte market. There is representativeness: We interview an Ivy League candidate for a job and automatically assume they are highly capable and a great fit for the team.

Are we consciously aware of these mental shortcuts and their impact? We should keep heuristics in mind when making day-to-day decisions about projects to take on, the creditworthiness of assets and borrowers, and even the recruitment of new team members. The power of collaboration is just as crucial a takeaway. Just as Kahneman and Tversky were more impactful as a team than they could have ever been on their own, collaboration within our teams allows us to counterbalance personal biases and arrive at more effective decisions.

Reading about economics and psychology can be quite bland. Or, what do the kids call it these days? Basic? However, in typical Lewis fashion, he manages to turn a story about the dawn of behavioral economics into a tale of the human condition.

President’s Picks is a book review and leadership advice column written by Tyler Griffin, president of mortgage banking at Lument. Email tyler.griffin@lument.com with any suggestions, comments, or questions.

February 11, 2025 by

I’m a managing director and head of transaction management at Lument, where my responsibilities include managing the closing of loan transactions from the application stage through post-closing delivery. With almost 28 years at Lument and its predecessor organizations—and more than 31 years of industry experience—I’ve cultivated deep expertise in multifamily loan closings.

Our team is top-notch, and together we work extensively with a range of internal and external partners to ensure loan transactions align with established guidelines for closing and timely delivery. It’s really rewarding to play a vital role in supporting the broader organization in achieving its goals across all lines of business. I strive to create an environment where everyone feels encouraged to participate and share their insights. Every member is a fantastic person and employee—I try to celebrate a lot of their achievements, and I hope that some of our success is due to how I lead.

Lument’s welcoming, hard-working culture has provided me with opportunities to initiate change and grow both professionally and personally. I strive to be very open and transparent with my team to create a culture of empathy, and to be crystal clear about my goals and expectations. I also try demonstrating that we need to be adaptable and flexible, and when things don’t go right, to have the patience and understanding to take it in stride, regroup, and get back on track.

The company also encourages entrepreneurial thinking, which I appreciate. I believe people thrive when they’re empowered to make decisions and given the freedom to engage and perform their best work. I’m not afraid to approach my manager with an idea about how we might do something better or streamline a process—not only in my department, but Lument as a whole, because ultimately, we’re all one team.

Throughout my career, one of my proudest moments was when Lument was honored as the 2023 recipient of Fannie Mae’s Excellence in Operations Award. This recognition celebrated our outstanding performance across key operational areas, including master servicing, commitments, and delivery. What makes this achievement so meaningful is that it not only reflects the dedication of my department and team but also showcases the exceptional collaboration across multiple departments working toward a shared goal. This award is a testament to our strong internal relationships, effective leadership, and unwavering commitment to excellence in everything we do.

I’m also proud to be Lument’s main liaison with Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network, which provides women in our industry with valuable opportunities for networking and professional development. I got involved with the organization in 2020 and it was a terrific introduction to women like me who have had long careers in commercial real estate, yet haven’t always had secure footing, given that our industry has traditionally been male dominated. CREW’s seminars and events are great venues for meeting women in different real estate categories, to learn how can we support each other and celebrate our various career successes. We’re recruiting more young women to join our chapter within Lument, which we launched in 2023, and grow awareness of the many resources CREW has to offer.

One key lesson I’ve learned during my career is that the value of adaptability and continuous learning can’t be overestimated. Remaining open to change—be it in respect to new technologies, market shifts, or client needs—is essential to long-term success, as is relationship-building and gaining hands-on experience. Early in my career, I always made it a point to learn from more experienced colleagues, and then gradually use those lessons to expand my responsibilities.

Something that many people might not know about me is that I’m an avid snowboarder, along with my husband and three children. I was very hesitant to try it—I literally cried on the way to our first snowboarding vacation. The first three days were filled with falls, bumps, and bruises—I could feel every bone in my body. But what makes snowboarding intimidating also makes it exhilarating. It requires technical skill and focus and challenges you to problem-solve and make sharp, fast decisions. For those few hours, there are no distractions—it’s just us and the mountain.

Vanessa Howes, Managing Director And Head Of Transaction Management - Howes Lal 977X532 2.10.25 Edited

November 20, 2024 by

I’m excited to announce President’s Picks, which will give me a chance to share some of the most valuable insights and business wisdom I have gained over the years from books I’ve read. This project has been years in the making. For those who don’t know, I played soccer through the end of my college career. That required a lot of travel: first in the car, then on team bus rides and long flights. And that downtime led me to pick up the habit of reading. I always packed a book for the road, typically leaning toward leadership, autobiographies, or finance-related stories. And I have continued to read, long after I hung up my cleats and gloves.

Many of the business books I’ve read are forgettable. Far too often, the themes are tired and the leadership advice repetitive. But there are some books that still really speak to me. One of these is Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World.

One of the things I like about Nine Lies is that it’s written for busy professionals. Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall take a storytelling approach, which makes for an easy read. They also incorporate tangible, actionable steps you can apply when interacting with your teams or thinking about your career. Even though it was published pre-COVID in 2019, I’ve found Nine Lies to be more valuable than ever as time goes by.

Nine Lies debunks several myths about leaders and leadership, especially the storybook view that leaders are supremely competent and confident individuals who are well rounded and great at all aspects of the job. In real life, no one can achieve this standard. A leader can be amazing at managing a group very effectively but have a terrible tendency for making small talk at happy hour. Trying to achieve this standard is a recipe for disappointment. It distorts how you should work and what you should strive for.

Some of the other myths Buckingham and Goodall highlight concern goals and plans, specifically the notion they often are outdated as soon as we have them on paper so there’s no point in making them. While change is inevitable, it doesn’t mean we should throw our annual goals and models out the window. There is a great deal of value in taking time to reflect each year and putting into writing what you’re working towards and how it fits into your larger strategy. But the authors also point out that you should not blindly stick to a plan when the world has moved in another direction. You should always be open to taking new data from markets and responding in the moment. I found Nine Lie’s approach to how you can be nimble and accepting of change – in part by enabling employees to organically align their unique strengths with the needs of the organization – to be illuminating.

I also found their approach to the elusive work-life balance refreshing. Buckingham and Goodall stress that it’s really up to you to create the work-life you want. There’s no balance that works for everyone. Your task is to figure out what you love about your work and find ways to do more of that. We all must love something about this business, or we wouldn’t be here. Making it work for us is what keeps us going.

I hope that this brief discussion of Nine Lies gives you a taste for some of the insights it offers, encourages you to pick it up, and apply its lessons. And I’m not the only one who likes it. Nine Lies has a 4.6 review on Amazon with more than 1,000 ratings!

President’s Picks is a book review and leadership advice column written by Tyler Griffin, president of mortgage banking at Lument. Email tyler.griffin@lument.com with any suggestions, comments, or questions.

November 12, 2024 by

I’m a senior managing director and head of real estate investment sales at Lument. As a leading multifamily lending platform, the company is charting a growth path for the future by offering clients an expanding array of complementary services and solutions—and one key component of that growth is a national market-rate multifamily investment sales platform, which we launched this summer.

After having spent the past 12 years overseeing the largest multifamily investment sales platform in the country, I joined Lument to develop and run this dynamic new facet of our business. Creating this nationwide platform is an ambitious goal which will take time, but being selective in who we bring on to be a part of this investment sales platform is critical. Right now, I am focused on sharing our vision with experienced multifamily advisors throughout the country, as well as building the foundation for this new platform. I’m lucky that Lument has infrastructure and resources in all the areas where we need support.

It’s an opportune time to be in the multifamily market, which has become much more competitive and institutionalized over the past 20 years. Between advances in underwriting and growing investor sophistication, it’s a different ballgame. Looking at the current multifamily market cycle, I am excited to see pent-up demand starting to turn into activity as investors adjust expectations and begin to jump back into the market.

We have a tremendous opportunity to leverage Lument’s debt platform for the benefit of our clients. With 30 offices across the country, Lument is a top agency lender and servicer providing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD/FHA financing. In addition, we offer balance sheet bridge, mezzanine, and preferred equity solutions, as well as a suite of debt capital markets products such as bank, debt fund, life company, and CMBS financing. The powerful combination of investment sales with this comprehensive range of custom capital solutions is unrivaled in the industry.

I have always been entrepreneurial-minded and enjoy the challenge of building out systems and infrastructure. The goal of developing an investment sales platform represents a tremendous opportunity. One of the reasons I was drawn to Lument is a corporate culture that encourages you to decide what you want to accomplish, put together a game plan for how you’re going to get there, and then make it happen. The colleagues I’ve already collaborated with have shown remarkable intelligence and dedication. Working with people who are so capable and with whom you enjoy spending time makes such a difference. It’s a very positive work environment, which is terrific.

One thing that my colleagues likely don’t know about me is that as of a few weeks ago, after living in Indianapolis for 25 years, my wife and I are now Manhattan residents. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in big cities during my career—when we got married, we were living in downtown Chicago—so we understand what urban living is all about. But obviously, New York is a different experience, no matter who you are. It’s an exciting new chapter, both personally and professionally.

September 25, 2024 by

I’m a senior director on Lument’s capital markets team, where I identify financing solutions for commercial real estate clients utilizing a wide range of lending sources, including banks, debt funds, conduits, and Lument’s proprietary capital. Prior to joining Lument, I focused on capital markets deals across virtually every sort of asset type and region in the U.S.

To be successful in the current environment–where there’s market volatility and guidelines have recently become more stringent–you must be able to offer an array of alternative financing, or else clients will take their business elsewhere. Lument has its finger on the pulse of the market: at a time where a lot of competitors aren’t looking to grow their brands, Lument has wisely gone in the opposite direction and expanded this team, which I believe will grow the business.

Since arriving at Lument, I’ve been able to focus fully on production, while in my previous role I concentrated more on the analytics side. Though production in general has its challenges, ultimately there’s a lot of opportunity in the market right now, so I’m excited to be able to fully focus my time on originations as we grow this business.

Many Lument colleagues from across the country reached out to welcome me and my capital market team members when we joined Lument, and now other producers nationwide are getting in touch, either to pick our brains or discuss co-brokering deals with us, which is terrific. I appreciate the entrepreneurial and empowering culture that Lument has cultivated. As a producer, I feel that my years of experience and market knowledge are valued and respected by leadership.

My team and I have hit the ground running and have already closed a few deals, which has been great. It was a pretty seamless transition, and we’re seeing business ramp up. Recently, a lender whom I’ve closed a bunch of deals within the past reached out about a previous client of mine was having an issue with one of his properties. He was sitting on a loan for quite some time without the certificate of occupancy needed to lease out the building, and eventually went into a Department of Buildings (DOB) audit.

His hands were tied for a very long time, and his loan was coming due. It was a bit of a fire drill, but I was able to get that to the finish line in about two weeks, before the close of the loan, which was a big win. It’s a good example of the importance of maintaining relationships in this industry: in business, as in life, if you treat people the way you want to be treated, they’ll likely reciprocate, and good things will happen.

One thing that my colleagues may not know about me is that I love to play sports, and I work out a lot. I’ve been doing CrossFit for two years now. I have a good friend who built a CrossFit gym in his house, so we work out together and push each other. Balancing work and home life is always a challenge–I have four kids, who take up the majority of my free time–but I try to get out there and stay active as much as I can.