Andy Weiss, 34
Commercial mortgage broker at Dansker Capital Group
Andy Weiss sees your busy year and raises you a market downturn, plus one wedding, plus one newborn. He got married in November 2022 and is a proud father to a 1-month-old girl named Dalia (who joined this interview and almost made the list on the merits of cuteness alone).
“It’s been a crazy year, but a great year,” Weiss said. “It’s been the best year of my life.”
Weiss spent five years in PwC’s financial markets group before pursuing a role as a mortgage broker at Marcus & Millichap in 2017. That’s where he met his friend, mentor and the founder of Dansker Capital Corporation, Andrew Dansker. In 2020, Weiss became a founding member of Dansker’s firm, and the rest is history.
At Dansker Capital Group, Weiss is responsible for sourcing debt for commercial real estate projects — something his background and training as a CPA and chartered financial analyst gives him a leg up on when it comes to tackling larger and more complex deals where a high level of capital markets expertise is required. His average deal size ranges from $1 million to $75 million.
Weiss pivoted briefly during the market disruption to focus on recruiting talent to the firm and expanding its reach. He soon returned to his mortgage broker role, however, and hit the ground running again, pounding the phones. It paid off, and “starting in January, I’ve had my best year yet,” he said.
In a market filled with challenges, Weiss lists finding the right lender for deals as one big one, and also “helping clients realize that they have a good deal, despite the perception that it may not be a good deal — because their expectations are sometimes set from six months or a year ago. But that’s not the reality today,” he said.
Just last month, Weiss arranged a $60 million acquisition and construction loan for Cannonsport apartments and marina in Palm Beach Shores, Fla. The loan for the waterfront asset was provided by S3 Capital and allowed the sponsor to acquire and renovate the development, and also to generate a significant return for themselves and their investors.
And, as the year ends, there’s no sign of slowing down for Weiss.
“We’re signing up multiple deals every single week,” Weiss said. “That’s in New York and also across the country, every single asset class. We’re willing to do what it takes to get deals done because we’re a relationship-focused brokerage firm, both with our clients and with lenders. We sell information, but the relationships in this business are really what propel you to stand out.”
