$2,300,000 Cash-Out Refinance at 3.87% Fixed for Seven Years, Non-Recourse

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners secured a $11,200,000 non-recourse bridge refinance with cash-out for a two-story retail plaza in the heart of Koreatown in Los Angeles, CA. Located next to a Metro D (Purple) Line subway station along a very busy stretch of Wilshire Boulevard, the Property is anchored by 7-Eleven and Carl’s Jr. and features a fast-casual food hall on the second floor. However, the food hall has been closed due to COVID.

The Sponsor, a prolific developer and property owner, recently announced plans to replace the plaza with a 17-story, mixed-use apartment tower that includes affordable units and some commercial space. GSP was engaged to source a bridge solution to pay off the existing maturing loan and provide prepayment flexibility once the Project’s entitlements and permits are secured.

GSP focused on the strength of the Sponsor, the bustling and densely populated Koreatown market, home to several large and small-scale projects currently planned or under construction and the Purple Line Extension project which will provide a dependable, high-speed alternative for travel between downtown Los Angeles, Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills and Westwood. The financing closed within 11 days of the term sheet being signed.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully arranged $18,880,000 in permanent financing for a 192-unit multifamily community. The loan is fixed for 15 years at 3.03% with interest-only payments for the entire term and significant cash-out proceeds. Despite the severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the spring and summer, the Property was able to remain above 95% occupancy with minimal declines in rent collections. GSP capitalized on the Property’s quality, market resiliency, strength of the Sponsor and low leverage to attract quality offers from several lenders.

George Smith Partners arranged a $7,000,000 ($901/sf) cash-out, non-recourse, first mortgage from a REIT to refinance a single-tenant, owner-user office property in Venice Beach, California. The Lender was comfortable with providing the cash-out financing, although the single tenant was in bankruptcy protection due to the property’s irreplaceable location which is blocks from the ocean in Venice Beach. The financing provides 12 months of bridge term while the Tenant works through bankruptcy proceedings. Although the loan is non-recourse, the Lender did not require an appraisal or other third-party reports. Sized to 60% of the Lender’s underwritten value, the loan priced at 6.90% fixed for the 12-month loan duration.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners secured a $5,230,000 non-recourse refinance for a 40-unit multifamily property in Los Angeles. The loan is fixed at a rate of 3.85% for five years and provides two years of interest only payments. Over the past three years, the Sponsors renovated 28 of the 40 units at a very high investment of $28,000 per unit. GSP sourced a bank lender that gave the Borrowers maximum credit for the higher income that resulted from leasing the newly renovated units. The Lender did not require seasoning on the new leases. The Lender did not have a floor on the rate at a time when many banks are applying floors to keep their rates above a certain threshold. The rate was competitive with Agency financing during a period when Freddie Mac was temporarily slowing down new loan originations. The Sponsors were operating the Property very efficiently with below-market expenses, and the third-party appraiser marked those expenses up to market. This resulted in a capitalized property value that did not meet the lender’s 65% LTV constraint. The Lender accommodated the Borrower by raising the LTV threshold so that loan proceeds and the rate would not be affected. The Lender was able to rate lock at application and was ready to close in about 50 days.

Transaction Description:
George Smith Partners secured $9,050,000 for the non-recourse, cash-out refinance of two unanchored, multi-tenant retail centers in Columbus, Ohio. The two properties were cross-collateralized allowing the Borrower to benefit from securing a higher leverage loan. The permanent loan is fixed at 4.25% for ten years with 12 months of interest only and a defeasance prepayment penalty structure.

Challenges:
One of the retail centers had a tenant whose parent company was in bankruptcy proceedings and vacated their space during our loan process. The other retail center, which is newly developed, was in the process of lease up and had a few tenants not yet in occupancy prior to loan closing. The market had very few comparables to support our underwritten value of the Subject Property.

Solution:
GSP identified a capital source that understood the strength of the asset, location and the experience of the Sponsor. Based on these strengths and additional market support provided, the Lender was able to offer a cross-collateralized structure, which maximized proceeds at 73% LTV with 12 months of interest only payments. The Capital Provider was also able to fund the loan with a few tenants not in occupancy. This allowed the Sponsor to take advantage of today’s low interest rate environment and eliminate interest rate risk.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully secured a $4,100,000 non-recourse permanent refinance of a 14-unit, multifamily property in West Los Angeles. Loan proceeds were used to pay off the existing variable, higher interest rate bridge loan into a lower interest, fixed rate loan. There was significant cash-out to the Sponsor, who had recently completed an extensive reposition and upgrade of the Property. Due to the Sponsor’s business plan, flexibility and interest only were paramount. As such, GSP worked with the Lender to structure a 5-year fixed rate term with 3 years interest only and a step-down prepayment structure of 3%, 2%, 1%. This structure allows the Sponsor to maximize current cash flow while providing the flexibility of a step-down structure that burns off when the loan begins to amortize.