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Los Angeles Construction Loans: Highly Leveraged $12,770,000 Ground Up Koreatown Condo Construction Financing

Los Angeles Construction Loans

Rate: 10.25% Interest Only
Term: 24 Month Construction Loan
LTC: 85%
Guarantee: Non-recourse

Transaction Description: GSP arranged ground-up construction financing for a 29-unit for-sale condominium development in the Koreatown sub-market of Los Angeles. The client was a local general contractor who partnered with an owner who contributed the land. The goal was to obtain highly leveraged, non-recourse construction financing and provide no additional equity. The Sponsor tried to access bank financing on their own before coming to GSP.

Challenge: Non-recourse construction financing is very difficult, especially for first time developers. Lenders view ground-up condo construction as one of the most risky types of financing. In addition, the Koreatown market has seen lots of multifamily developments, but there has been little recent condo construction in this market since the last real estate cycle. Also, the insurance and other last minute expenses increased the overall project cost by $500,000.

Solution: Using it relationships, GSP was able to identify a non-recourse construction lender who would provide highly leveraged construction financing. Because the ownership did not want to bring in new capital, it was also critical for the project to be correctly underwritten and achieve certain loan to cost and loan to value targets. When it was discovered that additional insurance would be needed to protect the contractor and the long-term welfare of the project, the lender agreed to increase the loan by $500,000 a few days before closing to provide capital for unexpected costs. This allowed us to close the loan and start construction.

 

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  • $42,120,000 Stretch Construction Financing for a 188-Unit Build-for-Rent Site in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina

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    Transaction Details: 

    George Smith Partners has successfully arranged a non-recourse stretch senior construction loan of $42,120,000 for the ground-up construction of a 188-unit build-for-rent community in Raleigh/Durham, NC. George Smith Partners, through their expertise in build-for-rent communities and strong relationships with a multitude of lenders was able to negotiate favorable terms for the sponsor including a sizable land lift.  The sponsor self-performed most of the site improvements and partnered with a home builder to erect the townhomes on the finished lots in tranches of 15-20 per month. The loan was priced at a floating rate of SOFR plus 475bps with one 6-month extension option. When built, the project will provide the future occupants from the rapidly growing market of Durham a mix of three and four-bedroom townhomes with two-car garages, an amenity center, access to top school districts, and proximity to high income tech jobs. 

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    Loan-to-Cost: 75% LTC 

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    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners has secured $14,100,000 in funding in support of our Sponsor’s horizontal construction of 98-single-family lots in Homestead, FL. The allocated funds are intended to finance the essential infrastructure for the forthcoming single-family residential community. The lots will be sold in stages to a predetermined homebuilder. Our Sponsor has obtained a revolving loan of 60% LTC, which features a floating rate of Prime + 50, spanning a 24-month term.

    Term: 2 Years with Extension Options
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    Transaction Description:

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    GSP canvassed banks, credit unions, and debt funds to find a lender that was comfortable with the business plan, which included no preleasing before construction. GSP worked with the Lender and Borrower to structure a loan which provided 65% of the costs to construct, lease, and stabilize the building. As well as a term of 30 months to provide sufficient time to complete the lease-up after completion of construction. The loan was also structured to provide an upsized 10 year perm loan option upon stabilization.

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    Transaction Description:

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    Transaction Description:

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    Multiple challenges were encountered when discussing the transaction with capital providers. The first being that the hotel is unflagged- many hospitality lenders focus primarily on popular hotelier affiliations during this risk-constrained lending environment. The team encountered a second hurdle related to mid-construction refinancing, which presented a challenging proposition from the outset of our campaign due to the hotel’s planned grand opening before November of 2023.

    The GSP team was determined to leverage the deal with support from the local Nashville sponsor that owns and manages over 600 keys in the Nashville market and over 2,000 keys in the southeast, property location on Music Row in Nashville, and construction completion.

    GSP successfully identified a hospitality Lender that exhibited confidence in the construction recapitalization process. This Lender was equipped to furnish the necessary funds to facilitate a smooth transition into TCO. Additionally, displaying confidence in the projected Average Daily Rate (ADR) assumptions. Notably, the Lender displayed comfort in financing the unflagged and extended-stay hotel, due to the Sponsor’s reputable track record in the market.

    Term: 2 Years with Extension Options
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