Lighthouse Advisory Services

What Lighthouse Advisory Services does

Lighthouse Advisory Services is a privately held, founder-owned commercial real estate finance, investment, brokerage, underwriting, and advisory firm headquartered at 1325 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. The firm is led by two principals — Mario Cerasuolo and Walden W. Wong — who together bring over 60 years of capital markets experience from prior roles at Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, and Big 4 accounting firms. Lighthouse serves three primary client categories: Investors, Borrowers (with deal sizes ranging from $3M to $250M), and Financial Institutions seeking underwriting and securitization support.

The firm operates five interconnected service lines: CRE Financing (permanent, bridge & mezzanine, and construction financing), CMBS/CLO Execution (full securitization support including accounting datatape compilation and offering document preparation), Underwriting & Diligence (loan documentation review, financial calculations, and property inspections), Investments (multifamily co-development in New Jersey and performing loan pool acquisitions), and Loans Originated (advisory across multifamily, hospitality, office, retail, and mixed-use property types). Lighthouse does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its core 'technology' is the deep institutional relationships held by its principals across banks, CMBS lenders, finance companies, life insurance companies, agency lenders, SBA lenders, pension funds, private equity, and opportunity funds.

Lighthouse earns revenue through transaction-based advisory fees and brokerage commissions on CRE financing placements, with no publicly disclosed pricing. The firm has extended from pure advisory into principal co-development, having participated in four New Jersey multifamily projects (The Harvard, The Grove, 227 North Walnut) and a $38M performing loan pool acquisition. The business model is fundamentally relationship-driven, consultative, and dependent on the individual production of its two principals — a structure that yields direct client engagement and high service customization but caps scale absent additional senior hiring.

Name

Lighthouse Advisory Services

Legal name

Lighthouse Advisory Services, LLC

Website

https://lighthouseas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lighthouse Advisory Services is a New York-based, founder-owned commercial real estate finance and advisory firm providing CRE financing, CMBS/CLO execution, underwriting, and principal co-investment services to investors, borrowers, and financial institutions on deals ranging from $3M to $250M.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Finance Advisory

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163), Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents (6162), Asset-Backed Securities (6189)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Capital Markets Advisory (Debt/Equity Placement, Refinancing) (BPAJANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Debt & Capital Advisory (Debt Raising, Refinancing, Private Credit) (BPAHAOAD), Real Estate Investment Advisory (Acquisitions/Dispositions, Capital Allocation) (BPAJANAA)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate finance
• CRE advisory services
• CMBS loan execution
• CRE underwriting diligence
• Real estate investment advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advisory and Brokerage Fees: The firm generates revenue through advisory fees and brokerage commissions on commercial real estate financing transactions. As an exclusive advisor, Lighthouse facilitates financing between borrowers and capital sources, earning fees for arranging loans, providing underwriting services, and executing CMBS/CLO securitizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lighthouse Advisory Services is a commercial real estate finance, investment, brokerage, underwriting, and advisory firm that arranges CRE financing ranging from $3 million to $250 million for borrowers and connects them with institutional capital sources including banks, CMBS lenders, finance companies, life insurance companies, agency lenders, SBA lenders, pension funds, and private equity funds. The firm also provides CMBS/CLO securitization execution support, third-party underwriting and due diligence services for financial institutions, and co-invests in multifamily development and performing loan pool acquisitions.

Product overview

Lighthouse Advisory Services is a commercial real estate finance investment, brokerage, consulting and advisory firm offering a unified suite of services. The core offering consists of five interconnected products: CRE Financing (providing permanent, bridge, mezzanine, and construction financing), CMBS/CLO Execution (securitization execution support), Underwriting & Diligence (due diligence and loan documentation review), Investments (co-development and loan pool acquisitions), and Loans Originated (advisory services for loan financing). These services work together to serve investors, borrowers, and financial institutions across the commercial real estate lifecycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 22% IRR to investors over 7-year period on performing loan pool purchase
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Eastdil Secured: Premier CRE capital markets advisor that brokers debt and equity placements and underwrites transactions for institutional clients. Directly comparable to Lighthouse as a top-tier, relationship-driven CRE capital markets intermediary, though at vastly greater scale.
• Northmarq: US commercial real estate mortgage banking firm arranging debt and equity for institutional and private clients. Directly comparable to Lighthouse in CRE debt brokerage and capital markets advisory across property types.
• Walker & Dunlop: Large US commercial real estate finance company originating, brokering, and servicing CRE loans across multifamily, healthcare, and other property types. Directly comparable as a CRE mortgage banking and debt placement intermediary, though much larger and balance-sheet funded.
• Meridian Capital Group: NYC-based commercial real estate mortgage brokerage arranging debt for institutional borrowers across property types. Directly comparable to Lighthouse's CRE financing brokerage model, especially on mid-market deals in the US.
• Marcus & Millichap Capital: Capital markets and investment advisory division of Marcus & Millichap providing debt/equity placement and underwriting for CRE transactions. Directly comparable in debt placement advisory, particularly for mid-market commercial property owners.
• Greystone: National CRE finance and advisory firm providing debt placement, underwriting, and affordable housing financing. Comparable on CRE debt brokerage and advisory, with overlapping concentration on multifamily and agency (Fannie/Freddie) execution.

Broad incumbents

• JLL Capital Markets: Global CRE services division of JLL offering debt placement, equity placement, investment sales, underwriting, and loan servicing. Comparable across the full Lighthouse service mix but operates as part of a much larger diversified platform.
• CBRE Capital Markets: Investment sales, debt/equity placement, and underwriting arm of CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate services firm. Comparable in CRE financing, securitization execution, and underwriting services, embedded within a global full-service platform.
• Newmark Group: Public commercial real estate services firm with a large capital markets and investment sales platform providing debt placement, equity placement, and underwriting across US and UK markets. Comparable in service mix (CRE financing, underwriting, advisory) but significantly broader and more institutional.

Emerging players

• Institutional Real Estate Advisors: Boutique CRE capital markets advisory firm focused on debt placement, equity placement, and recapitalization for institutional clients. Comparable in advisory business model and target borrower segment, though smaller in scale than Lighthouse.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lighthouse_cre
• Facebookfacebook.com/LighthouseCRE1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lighthouse-cre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lighthouse Advisory Services