The purchase of a Tustin building by New American Funding isn’t the lender’s first, and it likely won’t be the last.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Rick Arvielo has bought eight buildings in the last five years: one on Red Hill Avenue in Santa Ana and seven others outside of Orange County—two in Riverside, one in Temecula, two in Las Vegas and two in Texas.
Most are branch offices of New American, which has grown loan volume more than 460% in that time, with a radical ramping up of revenue and employee count to go with it.
It owns its headquarters building, as well.
“We bought that [following the last] downturn when prices were depressed and interest rates low,” Rick said.
The other building buys were similarly opportunistic, he said, whether coming under similarly generous terms, generating cash flow, or ginning up more space for a rapidly expanding company.
Rick and Patty Arvielo, co-founder and president, seem to like buying buildings—a lot.
Consider how much they do and then know this: They like people and going places even more.
“Travel and family,” Patty said.
She said they head overseas about three times a year.
“I love culture and the people,” she said. “It opens your eyes. It’s more than just fun—it’s enlightening.”
The Arvielos have three kids, and the youngest, Dominic, a musical theater student at Orange County School of the Arts, “has been to 38 countries,” Rick said.
Their next jaunt is to Kenya this summer, which includes work with a group “building a classroom in Nairobi,” Patty said, and a safari where, “the only thing we shoot is with our cameras,” Rick said.
“It’s life-changing to see wild animals in their natural habitat,” Patty added. To be surrounded by “super-powerful creatures”—she mentioned as an example 2,000 Cape buffalo—“is absolutely stunning.”
And “on the flight home I’m booking the next trip.”
— Paul Hughes
