PERSPECTIVE: Why Budget for Bad Debt?
By Richard Schreiber, president of SureDeposit and Mark Copeland, COO for Alliance Residential Management LLC As budget season approaches, apartment owners and managers are once again budgeting for bad debt – those monies unrecovered by collections after a resident has damaged a unit or skipped out on rent. According to just-released data from the National Apartment Association (“2008 Survey of Operating Income & Expenses in Rental Apartment Properties’), owners and property managers of market rate properties lost on average $70 per unit last year to bad debt. That amounts to some $2 billion industry-wide, a confounding “cost of doing business”…
Home Sales Fall as Credit Conditions Worsen
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–Pending home sales (including multifamily and single-family homes) in September fell on the heels of a strong gain a month earlier as credit tightened and economic conditions deteriorated, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in September, declined 4.6 percent to 89.2 from an upwardly revised reading of 93.5 in August, but is actually 1.6 percent higher than September 2007 when it stood at 87.8. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says pending sales have been above year-ago levels for two months in…
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Apartment Sales Market Slows Down
By Keat Foong, Executive EditorThe apartment investment sales market since the financial market crisis occurred in mid-September has “freezed up” as apartment buyers and sellers face deep uncertainty over the future of the nation’s—indeed, the global—economic condition. According to the results of one study, reported here in the previous issue, apartment sales volume has plunged a whopping 69 percent. Indeed, one broker, Kitty Wallace, senior vice president at Sperry Van Ness, says that in her experience in California, multi-housing transactions have dropped 70 to 80 percent. The severe drop in apartment investment sales volume generally is attributed to a combination…
Multi-Housing Executives Update: CPC Appoints Ronald Schiferl as New CFO, and Other Moves
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) recently named Ronald Schiferl (pictured) as Chief Financial Officer.In his new role, Schiferl will be responsible for providing overall finance management for the corporation and its for-profit development arm, CPC Resources Inc. (CPCR), encompassing all accounting and treasury functions. Schiferl has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Before joining the CPC, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Naterra Land, Inc., a position he held for two years. Prior to joining Naterra Land, he worked at Opus Corp. for eight years as a senior vice…
TODAY’S DEALS: Hendricks & Partners Arranged Sale of Rental Portfolio for over $53M, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLa Mesa, Calif.–Hendricks & Partners recently arranged the sale of the Baltimore Apartment Portfolio, a family-built and owned property for over 35 years. This 406-unit apartment property, located in the heart of La Mesa, Calif. was sold for $53,350,000.The project was constructed in phases between 1973 and 1980 by Morris and Barbara Steiman, who later left the property to the family trust. This was a very high-profile sale tracked by hundreds of real estate and legal experts in San Diego County. The property was purchased by Strategic Realty Capital of Los Angeles. HFF Arranges $50.78M…
Affordable Senior Living Historic Renovation Opens in Missouri
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNeosho, Mo.—The historic renovation of the 15-unit Newton Place Apartments, an affordable independent living community for seniors 62 and older, is now complete.Developed by Terravest Development Corp. and designed by Rosemann & Associates PC, the four-story building is one of the tallest in the town. Newton Place Apartments is located in Neosho’s downtown square, near the town’s courthouse.Originally built in 1906, the building has served a number of purposes, including city hall, a dentist’s office, a bank, and a jail. Most recently, it was known as the Newton Hotel.The $2.8 million renovation of the project included…
$800M Mixed-Use Project in Florida Gets Green Light
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPlantation, Fla.–The US Capital Holdings Group has received the City Council’s approval for 321 North, its $800 million project in the heart of Plantation, Fla. US Capital Holdings Group will begin redeveloping the former Plantation Fashion Mall into a mixed-use project featuring up to 590 residential units, 550,000 sq. ft. of retail and 613,000 sq. ft. of office.When completed, 321 North will provide the city with approximately $2 million in tax revenue per year and create upwards of 3,700 new jobs. “This is a seminal moment at a seminal time,” says Wei Chen, CEO, US…
Multi-Housing Republicans Express Pleasure Over Obama Victory
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor and Keat Foong, Executive EditorNew York–As Senator Barack Obama was chosen the next president of the United States on Nov. 4, the historic win became one of the biggest stories in recent times. But for finance professionals and developers in the multi-housing industry, how did this story impact the other big story—the credit crunch? MHN spoke to a few industry insiders to find out what they think.Jim Scofield, senior investment advisor at Sperry Van Ness, did not vote for President-Elect Barack Obama, but thinks his election to the Presidency of the greatest country in…
TODAY’S DEALS: Watertown, N.Y. Apartment Community Sold for over $4M, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWatertown, N.Y.–GMH Capital Partners recently arranged the sale of Woodcreek Apartments (pictured), a 104-unit, garden-style apartment community located in Watertown, N.Y., for $4.25 million. Conifer Realty, a Rochester, N.Y.-based real estate development and management company, purchased the property. Woodcreek Apartments features 13 two-story apartment buildings, each comprising eight two-bedroom apartments. It was built in 1990 and was 100 percent occupied at the time of sale.”Woodcreek’s proximity to Fort Drum Military Base is ideal,” says Dave Forrest, senior vice president of investment sales for GMH Capital Partners. “This property has maintained strong occupancy and a stable…
Leader of New Congress Promises to Preserve, Build Affordable Housing
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBoston–U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, recently laid out affordable housing legislative priorities for the 111th Congress during the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) Fall Developers Forum held recently in Boston. Representative Frank emphasized that an affordable housing preservation bill will be a top priority when the Congress convenes in January. Congressman Frank delivered his remarks after accepting NH&RA’s 2008 Affordable Housing Vision Award. “We are certainly happy that the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has made a strong commitment to the preservation of affordable housing…