News

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorLawrenceville, Ga.—Apartment Finder has announced a partnership with Enormo.com, the world’s largest international real estate portal. Apartment Finder’s listings will now be displayed on Enormo.com, as well as 80 of Enormo’s country sites for renters worldwide seeking an apartment in the United States.“Websites like Enormo are looking for fresh and relevant content on their site. We download our content every night at midnight, and they select what they serve on their site,” explains Marcia Bollinger, president of Apartment Finder. “It’s an extension of our SEO effort, another way to get a better value proposition for our…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The weakening economy and continued credit crunch led to increases in multifamily mortgage delinquencies during the first quarter of 2009, according to the Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report, released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). “Multifamily mortgage delinquency rates continued to rise in the first quarter,” Jamie Woodwell, vice president of Commercial Real Estate Research at the MBA, tells MHN. “Numbers don’t explicitly break out for multifamily, but the sector is taking the pinch much like other sectors. In fact, multifamily properties have been more rapidly affected than say office, because the leases are short—one year or…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision, announced that it will offer rental assistance to 4,000 non-elderly families with disabilities, including 1,000 vouchers specifically targeted to those transitioning out of nursing homes and other care facilities. Through its funding notice, HUD is seeking comment from public housing authorities and others to ensure this critically needed assistance is distributed and administered in the most effective manner possible.The Supreme Court’s ruling in Olmstead v. L.C. & E.W., ten years ago, affirmed the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorOak Creek, Wis.–Hendricks & Partners recently arranged the sale of Oak Park Apartments (pictured), located at 8828 South Oak Park Dr. in Oak Creek, Wis. for about $12,200,000, which was the asking price.Constructed in 1964, Oak Park Apartments is a 235-unit rental community that features 22, two-story buildings offering a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes featuring spacious floor plans averaging over 835 square feet. The apartment homes also offer patio/balconies, spacious closets, full basements, pitched roofs, as well as some garages and carports. Community amenities include a remodeled leasing center/clubhouse, 24-hour maintenance,…

Irvine, Calif.–Western National Group has appointed Annie McClinton (pictured) as vice president of training and development. McClinton will serve Western National Group by developing, managing and implementing training curriculum and mentorship for more than 1,100 associates.  Prior to joining Western National Group, McClinton was with the Irvine Company Apartment Communities for 10 years, where she served as vice president of training and vice president of operations. 

“I look forward to being a part of the team and working with associates at all levels to create programs that can help them thrive both personally and professionally,” McClinton says. 

McClinton holds certifications…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor   Washington, D.C.—The Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCo), a Bronx, N.Y.-based non-profit organization that builds affordable homes, has received a Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award in Green Housing for its Intervale Green, the largest affordable Energy Star-certified building in the nation.“It’s a first of its kind and we are trying to show that it can be done, that you need to pay a lot of attention to detail and that green is a word that has multiple meanings,” Nancy Biberman, founder and president of WHEDCo, previously told MHN. (Click here for…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Greenwood Village, Co.—Distressed properties will become more widespread in the next three to five years, says the founder of a consulting firm that was recently launched to specialize in resolving such assets. Caldera Asset Management, based in Colorado and Atlanta, has teamed with RAM Partners, an Accredited Management Organization, to provide lenders, equity investors, lawyers and other entities with services to solve distressed multifamily asset issues. “There is about $18 billion worth of apartments under some stage of distress now,” says Michael Kelly, president and co-founder of Caldera Asset Management. “In the next two years,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will make more than $58 million available for a broad range of housing counseling programs to help families find and preserve housing. The funding is an increase of $11 million, or 23 percent, over last year. These grants will be awarded competitively to hundreds of HUD-approved counseling agencies and State Housing Finance Agencies that offer a variety of services including how to purchase or rent a home, how to avoid foreclosure, how to improve credit scores, and how to qualify for a reverse mortgage. “Now,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBethesda, Md.–NorthMarq Capital’s Washington, D.C. office has arranged first mortgage financing of $51.4 million for Columbia Town Center, a 531-unit multifamily property (pictured), located in Columbia, Md. Financing was based on a 10-year term with four-year interest only followed by a 30-year amortization schedule and was arranged for the borrower, a fund controlled by ING Clarion Partners, by NorthMarq through its affiliate AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance, a Fannie Mae DUS lender.  Love Funding Arranges $10M Equity for 10 Memory Care FacilitiesChicago–Love Funding recently arranged a $10 million equity placement for the development of 10 memory care…

Newport Beach, Calif.–Stoneridge Capital Partners has acquired the 498-unit Avila Apartment Homes community in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. from The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. for $70 million. The private investor now plans to put in several hundred million dollars of discretionary capital in attractively priced assets over the next two to three years. Greg Merage (pictured), CEO of Stoneridge Capital Partners, believes in the long-term fundamentals for multifamily in Orange County, especially in south Orange County where demographics are strong. He talks to MHN Online News Editor Anuradha Kher about Stoneridge’s investment strategy for multi-housing.MHN: Can you explain the…