$4,200,000 Refinance of Luxury Condominium; Beverly Hills Adjacent, CA

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners secured $9,882,000 in proceeds for the refinance of a newly stabilized 32-unit property in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles. The loan is fixed at a rate of 3.49% for 10 years, with 6 years of interest-only payments. The loan is non-recourse and has no payment reserves.

Several challenges were encountered when discussing the transaction with capital providers. The Property had just reached stabilization, so GSP had to find a lender that would include the income from newly signed leases without requiring several months of operating history. The Sponsor desired to lock their low rate for 10 years. This eliminated bank financing as an option because banks price up for longer term loans. Some CMBS lenders offered very competitive rates, but the Sponsor wanted an easy and low-cost closing process. As a result, Agency financing was the best option for a 10-year fixed rate loan with partial term on interest-only payments. While in application, extensive data from comparable properties was used to support proforma expenses and maintain underwritten cash flow. The loan closed in about 60 days.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully arranged the cash-out refinance of a 200+ unit multifamily property. The loan is floating at a starting rate of 2.56% and allows the Sponsor to complete a value-add strategy to increase the NOI and refinance into a permanent loan at higher proceeds in 18-24 months.

While processing the loan, GSP worked with the Lender to understand the historical cash flow which was extremely choppy due to the inconsistent rent payments during the Covid-19 pandemic. The analysis resulted in a $3,000,000 increase to the loan amount and an additional year of interest only payments.

Transaction Description:
George Smith Partners was retained to refinance a 2-Property multifamily portfolio. Sensing buying opportunities in the multifamily market, the Sponsor wanted to pull cash out of their existing multifamily portfolio to use as equity to purchase new properties. GSP obtained a fixed rate of 3.15% for the first 5 years of the 30-year term.

Challenge:
With the global pandemic and uncertainty in the market, it was critical to select a capital provider who could successfully close and provide the cash out for the additional purchases. Any delays would have been very costly because of penalties in the purchase contract. In addition, most lenders were overwhelmed with year-end financing requests as several other lenders pulled out of the market and forbearance requests from their current borrowers. There were complex issues around appraisals and inspections that required GSP’s daily oversight.

Solution:
Because of GSP’s strong relationship with this capital provider, we were confident that the loan officer would stay focused, close on time and keep the agreed rate and proceeds. GSP is in the debt market every day which gave us the ability to ensure that the selected Capital Provider was closing deals and meeting deadlines. GSP’s experience working with appraisers, inspectors and title/escrow during the COVID period was critical to getting this transaction completed in a timely manner. The loan closed on time and the Sponsor was able to utilize the cash-out to purchase another project. As is common during the COVID crisis, the Capital Provider wanted a 12-month payment reserve. GSP was able to convince the Capital Provider to only require 6-months and allow the reserve to be applied to the first 6-months of payments.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged $2,600,000 in permanent financing for the refinance of a stabilized 8-unit, multifamily property in Los Angeles, California. The Sponsor acquired the Property a few years ago and was looking to lower their rate as they finished completion of a light renovation. As the environment was changing drastically day to day with the COVID-19 pandemic, GSP identified a Capital Provider offering fantastic terms. There were no holdbacks, no deposits were required to be held at their branch and provided a flexible prepayment penalty structure that allowed the Sponsor plenty of options during these challenging times.

Transaction Description:
George Smith Partners was retained to develop and implement a strategy to refinance a 5-Property $50,000,000 multifamily portfolio. GSP divided the properties between two capital providers in order to provide maximum flexibility to the Sponsor. The second part of the portfolio involved obtaining a 70% LTV permanent loan of $8,600,000 to provide the Sponsor with over $1,500,000 in cash-out capital to purchase additional properties during a changing market and maintain a strong cash position. GSP obtained a fixed interest only rate of 3.95% for the first 5 years.

Challenge:
With the COVID-19 global pandemic and uncertainty in the market, it was critical to select a capital provider who could successfully close. Borrowing costs are on the rise as lenders ratchet up their credit standards. The proceeds for this transaction were targeted for the acquisition of an additional asset which had a firm closing date and a large non-refundable deposit. Any delays would have been very costly. With the current crisis, lenders were 100% focused on rent collections and overwhelmed with new financing requests as several other lenders pulled out of the market as well as forbearance requests from their current borrowers. In addition to the usual due diligence requirements, the Lender required much more information. There were complex issues around appraisals and inspections that required lots of hand-holding.

Solution:
GSP selected a capital provider that we have a strong relationship with and has closed numerous loans for us. We knew the loan officer would stay focused on the need to close on time and keep the agreed to rate and proceeds throughout the loan process. Because GSP is in the debt market every day, we were able to ensure that the capital provider was truly closing deals and meeting deadlines. Because of the market disruption, borrowing rates jumped by over 100 basis points overnight. We were able to lock the 5-year interest only rate at 3.95%, the following day, rates jumped to 4.75%. It was clear that the Lender was mindful of their reputation with GSP and didn’t want to get a reputation of crazy rate increases or abandoning their customers when they are needed the most. GSP’s experience working with appraisers, inspectors and title/escrow during the COVID period was critical to getting this transaction completed. The loan closed on time and the Sponsor was able to utilize the cash-out to purchase another project. As is now common during the COVID crisis, the Capital Provider required a 12-month interest reserve. We were able to convince the Capital Provider to apply those funds to the first 12 months of the loan payments.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners secured a first trust deed on an unencumbered 14-unit Los Angeles multifamily property. The loan is fixed at a rate of 3.5% for seven years and has five years of Interest Only payments. The Sponsor acquired the Property in an all-cash transaction 12 months ago and completed a full gut renovation. Unit interiors were updated to a high level of finish with an investment of $27,600/per unit, and the Property was leased up to 100% occupancy. The loan was placed into application with a California based bank about one week before the stay-at-home order was implemented. Despite the resulting economic uncertainty, the Sponsor was able to maintain collections close to 100%. As a result, the Capital Provider made one small change to the original term sheet, adding a twelve-month payment reserve. The payment reserve is based off Interest Only payments and it will be used to make the interest payment on the loan. In order to cover this reserve, the Capital Provider was able to increase loan proceeds from the amount in the original application. As a result, our Sponsor received the same amount of cash out that was originally applied for.