analyst

underwriter

portfolio manager

insurance specialist

asset manager

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc.

I recently worked for a company that left me with an overwhelmingly negative experience. My time at this company was characterized by a lack of professionalism, transparency, and respect for employees.

From the moment I was hired, I felt undervalued and disrespected by management. There was no clear communication about my job responsibilities, and when I attempted to seek clarification, I was met with hostility and aggression. The company culture was toxic, with cliques and favoritism dominating the workplace.

The work environment was also extremely disorganized and unproductive. There was little to no training or support for new employees, and the expectations for workload were unrealistic and often unattainable. The company seemed to prioritize quantity over quality, leading to subpar results and an overall lack of success.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of my experience was the lack of concern for employee well-being. There was no effort made to ensure a work-life balance or to promote a healthy workplace culture. Management was dismissive of employee concerns and seemed to view workers as disposable assets rather than valuable contributors to the company.

Overall, my time at this company was an incredibly negative experience, and I would caution anyone considering working here to seriously reconsider. The company lacks professionalism, respect, and a commitment to employee well-being, making it a difficult and unsatisfactory workplace.

Beware. This was once a great place to work but until upper management takes a look in the mirror and understands that THEY are the reason the turnover is so high, I would avoid at all costs. The current state of affairs: High turnover, no training for your position, management is too busy in meetings to assist you, constant changing of processes, poor communication and everyone's favorite...micromanagement. Don't worry - if you work really hard, for your annual review, not only are you told that a 5 rating isn't achievable...neither is a 4. So you can work hard to just meet expectations....which really helps when you are working for a raise. There is a reason why AVP's, Team leads and other leadership have left abruptly in the last year. Until the upper management can understand that they have created a negative work culture, nothing will change. I loved Arbor for what it used to be...but now everything is "Managers" running things by spreadsheets and very few leaders. 


The Buffalo office is horribly mismanaged from top to bottom. The entire management team has zero leadership or even people skills. There is no work life balance if you have a family or even a life outside of Arbor. The EVP grossly favors specific departments at the office and provides them with benefits others are not allowed. Employees are promoted to positions simply to keep them at Arbor and content, not based off ability. ( i.e. promoting employees to team leads when they don’t have enough employees to create a new team). There are no valuable skills obtained at Arbor except to learn what a toxic work environment is. Arbor had their employees back in the office in July 2020 during the pandemic when other financial institutions in the area remained work from home for the safety of their employees. As a direct quote from management “you are a warm body in a seat” to them, that is all. Your work will never be appreciated at this company.

This organization does not keep it's word in terms of what they promise you during interviews what actually happens.  Although you are working in portfolio management you are tasked with a multitude of administrative duties that should be handled by an admin assistant or customer service; such as data entry of new loans, creating file folders, scanning documents and saving to loan folders.  Their requirement of a college degree is ridiculous, because anyone with basis office experience can work here.  There are many "groups of employees" that have special treatment: can walk around and chat, use their cell phone at their desk, take 1.5 lunches without any grief from management because "they are friends" yet if you don't fall into this special group, you are constantly being emailed and spoken about behind your back.  They do not treat people fairly or professionally.

Was a great first job for learning the ropes of commercial real estate/overall biz and my immediate team was very supportive.  Didn't take long to recognize the obvious cracks in the business model and overall firm culture though.

+Good immediate team culture (mostly stemming from a dislike of other groups)
+Work/life balance (working >40 hours in the summer was almost not allowed, beers after work)

-WAY too many incoming deals were from suspect borrowers
-Originators had never come across a deal they didn't like resulting in constant conflict between underwriting/screening teams and origination/sales teams in getting what they want (more aggressive terms, lower proceeds, higher rate, etc.).  
- Lot of egos (funny because people at the major CRE firms would laugh at most of them)

Company forced employees back in the office in July 2020 during COVID-19 when the job is fully capable of working remote (it was proven from March - July). Hybrid option still has employees go to the office for no reason. Senior management has an old school way of thinking that employees should be at their desks.

Zero communication from senior management that isn’t even local to the area and has absolutely no interest in the office. 

Promotions only given in February when they’ve been promised for months. 

Toxic and negative work environment. 

401K match is below what competitors offer. 

Last but not least EXTREMELY understaffed!!! 
 Management in denial of all the issues and confused as to why employees leave. Time to wake up or watch more employees walk out the door. 

Arbor is a mess on every level. This is truly a career dead-end with folks worked to the bone, no collaboration or accountability and zero corporate culture. Employees are miserable and it oozes from every unprofessional pore. Make no mistake - this is a greed-driven boys club. Executives are very out of touch with day-to-day output, there is no strategy driving decisions and you are expected to follow orders blindly. Arbor is an extremely fast-paced stressful environment but for no reason, except maybe misery loves company?! Individual responsibilities and contributions are micromanaged at every turn. Most work in silos and there is no support, resources, or budgets to execute projects/initiatives. Don't waste your potential here!!! Turnover is insanely high, which speaks volumes.

Most roles are intriguing and the pay is at least at market. However, the culture is poor starting with the CEO, there are constant layoffs going back to the founding of the company, and horrible benefits. The CEO is the majority shareholder so his net worth is heavily dependent on the stock price thus he monitors expenses very carefully, especially during economic downturns. The company laid off at least 10% of employees across the board one month after COVID started. Also, most offers have a 6-month non-compete contingency, which means that you can't resign and go elsewhere. They have attempted to enforce non-compete clauses for employees who were furloughed and then refused to come back after they were called back 6 months later.

Arbor is an ok place for fresh college grads. Consider it for 2-3 years, but not beyond that; otherwise, you're hurting your own career goals. The asset/portfolio management jobs are pretty basic but tend to get over-complicated due to multiple management layers. Most portfolio managers leave the job within the first two or three years of their employment. Some stay as Arbor pays well in the area, and this seems to be the leverage the company uses to keep employees in a very dysfunctional organization. The job itself doesn't have much to offer! If you hunger for new skills and challenges, then forget Arbor. 

You travel to different parts of the US going in peoples apartments subjecting you to Covid 19, bed bugs, roaches, rats, mold, asbestos, and lead paint and neighborhoods with very high crime rates. You travel alone and are subjected these locations. They give you only $50.00 for a meal when on the road which doesn’t cover a full meal. They expect you to come in office after you travel from the airport. They expect you to work weekends and long days not making it easy if you have kids and balance your family. The management team is corrupted and is a hostile work environment.


Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Analyst 5 salaries reported	$70,000 per year
Underwriter 8 salaries reported	$81,875 per year
Portfolio manager 3 salaries reported	$75,000 per year
Insurance specialist 7 salaries reported	$61,786 per year
Asset manager 4 salaries reported	$93,625 per year

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