$13,369,000 Acquisition and Expansion Loan: 82-Site RV Park

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners identified a national balance sheet lender with an intimate knowledge of the Hayward submarket and arranged $8,400,000 in acquisition and bridge financing for the purchase and reposition of a currently 50% occupied, 1960’s-built apartment complex located in Hayward, CA. The Sponsor placed the portfolio under contract during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The loan includes $1,350,000 of future funding for extensive renovations of unit interiors and exterior upgrades, including an earthquake retrofit. Interest is not charged on the holdback until funds are drawn. This Capital Provider also structured and capitalized an interest reserve to cover the shortfall of cash flow during repositions. Sized to 76% of the total capitalization, the three-year bridge loan is interest only for 36 months and carries a floating rate of LIBOR + 4.25% and include two extension options for up to a term of five-years.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged a $5,400,000 financing facility for the acquisition of a 29,930 square foot vacant parking lot in the trendy Highland Park submarket of Los Angeles, CA. In addition to purchase financing, the financing facility offers good news money for predevelopment costs related to the Sponsors planned 150-unit co-living community on the site, which will be a by-right development and will take advantage of TOC Tier 1 incentives.

Co-living has emerged as a remedy to address the acute shortage of affordable housing across the country by offering tenants fully furnished, highly amenitized units with the cost of utilities, common area maintenance, and other traditional living spaces bundled into the rent. The Property is within a 5-minute walk from Highland Park’s main amenity-rich thoroughfares lined with shopping and dining destinations.

By focusing attention on land lenders who are active in the local area, GSP identified a capital provider who is familiar with the local market and also understands the importance that the co-living space will serve in the greater rental market going forward. The loan was uniquely structured to disburse approximately the balance of the down payment in addition to sponsor equity at closing, with the remaining proceeds to be reserved in a holdback feature that will cover the predevelopment soft costs in order to bring the Project to permit-ready status. The interest-only predevelopment land loan was priced at 8.50%, with a 15-month term and one 6-month extension option. The loan closed in less than 30 days from application.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged acquisition bridge financing for a value-add multifamily property in the Arlington Heights Neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The 11-unit, 1960’s vintage property had significant deferred maintenance and below market rents. The Sponsor’s business plan was to reposition the Property, buyout tenants and release the units at market rents. Sized to 72.5% of total project cost, the loan includes 100% of future funding for tenant buyouts, a full gut renovation of unit interiors and an exterior upgrade.

The two-year bridge loan is interest only and floats at a rate of Prime plus 0.50% (5.75% today) with no floor rate, which is important in a declining interest rate environment. The loan carries no prepayment penalty, and interest is not charged on the holdback until funds are drawn. The lender fee was negotiated down to 0.5%.

Transaction Description:
George Smith Partners secured $15,400,000 in non-recourse acquisition financing for an office tower located in the San Fernando Valley. The loan is fixed at 3.68% for 10 years with full term interest only payments. The proceeds represent 70% of the acquisition price.

Challenges:
The Property has over 40 tenants and many leases will roll within the next 2-3 years. Shortly before the PSA was signed, a major tenant moved out resulting in vacancy of 10%. The Property receives income both from cell tower leases and excess parking capacity, but many lenders do not give credit for these types of revenue. The seller included both regular operating expenses and capital expenditures in the historical P&Ls.

Solutions:
GSP demonstrated that the Property had historically high occupancy above 95% and provided data that demonstrated the strength of the local office market. This made the Lender comfortable with the short term leases and the temporary increase in vacancy. Additionally, while the loan was in application, the Sponsors signed a new lease to bring occupancy back up. The Lender did not require seasoning on this new lease. The Lender was able to include cell tower and parking income based on the historical P&Ls. Finally, GSP obtained the Seller’s general ledgers and was able to separate out major capital expenditures from the P&Ls. The Lender was ready to move quickly and close in about 30 days, but the Seller requested an extension and the loan closed about 50 days from application.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners secured a $34,000,000 permanent loan for the acquisition of a 273 unit Class A multifamily property in Dallas, TX. The 10 year loan is priced at 5.15% and fixed for ten years, with full term interest only. The Borrower executed their purchase and sale agreement in October 2018 as part of a 1031 exchange. While in due diligence the cash flow declined due largely to new construction coming on-line. In addition property taxes were re-assessed at a higher rate. GSP worked with the lender as well as the rating agencies to demonstrate the historical occupancy (95%+) and mitigate the loss in net cash flow from the rise in operating costs. The borrower was able to rate lock at an all-in rate less than applied for, with full proceeds, during the last week of 2018. The transaction closed once business commenced in full in 2019.

Transaction Description:
George Smith Partners secured $5,060,000 of non-recourse acquisition debt for the purchase of a 19-unit multifamily property in Los Angeles. The loan has interest only payments at a fixed rate of 3.92% for the first 5 years, before switching to a 30-year amortization. The lender provided non-recourse execution and a short prepayment penalty structure.

Challenges:
The property is located in a prime Los Angeles location, but low tenant turnover had resulted in one third of the tenants paying less than 50% of market rent. As a result, the property was income constrained. Many lenders stressed their cash flow at a rate higher than their current note rate, resulting in limited proceeds. The seller had upgraded several units and classified the cost as an operating expense on historical P&Ls. The property had a minor deferred maintenance issue that created some uncertainty during the appraisal inspection.

Solution:
GSP identified a Capital Provider that sized their proceeds at the actual note rate, rather than a stressed underwriting rate. The selected lender was also able to underwrite down to a 1.15 DCR, compared to the 1.20 constraint offered by other institutional providers. This resulted in considerably higher proceeds. Invoices were obtained for the unit upgrades which allowed the exact amount of capital expenditures to be deducted from operating expenses. It was confirmed that the deferred maintenance issue was disclosed to potential buyers during the bidding process, thus establishing that the sale price was inclusive of the cost of the repair.