News

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York– Prodigy International recently launched the Prodigy Network, a company that plans to purchase available condominiums for international investors.The company will purchase approximately $100 million worth of new condominium units in New York and Miami on behalf of investors located in Latin America, Europe, and Asia in the first 60-90 days and $500 million in the next 12 months. While the Prodigy Network plans to invest in properties not more than two years old, they must all be distressed properties being sold at a discount.“The sweet spot will be in the range of $350,000…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorNew York—REITs will be the top players again, much as they were in the 1990s, when the markets move forward in the next few years, predicted speakers at National Association of Real Estate Investors’ (NAREIT) REITWeek conference held in New York City this week. Speakers at REITWeek suggested that REITs will be the few players in the commercial real estate market that will have access to capital, and that they could take advantage of their superior capital-raising abilities to accumulate real estate assets at distressed prices.  “Public companies will have the opportunity to dominate the next…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorNew York—Kaled Management Corp. announced it has formed a division to provide third-party asset and property management services to owners of rent-regulated apartment properties in New York City.  The division, Kaled Residential Asset Management, will be spearheaded by Jordan Platt, the company’s vice president of Operations. “We are uniquely qualified to take over the management of stabilized apartment buildings on behalf of lenders and institutions that are now holding the keys to assets that are among the most complicated and challenging to run profitably and well,” said Edward Kalikow, president of Kaled Management. During the financing-fueled…

Guy Ackermann (pictured) is a partner in the Real Estate, Finance & Construction Group of Plante & Moran, a public accounting and business advisory firm that provides financial, human capital, operations, strategy, technology and family wealth management services. Ackermann has more than 27 years of experience representing real estate owners and developers in arranging financing, creating joint ventures, consulting for the acquisition and disposition of real estate and more.  He talks to MHN Online News Editor Anuradha Kher about original plans for the now-delayed Legacy Loans Program, whether he thinks the program has the potential to work in the way…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorChicago—TransUnion announced that it has integrated RentBureau’s data into its rental-screening platform, joining other resident screening companies that have become RentBueau Data Illuminated by gathering as much up-to-date and accurate information on potential residents as possible.“From the multifamily angle, we provide our data and our score to TransUnion customers to better evaluate applicants that come in, identifying applicants that are more risky. That translates to significant savings,” explains Eric Hartz, president and CEO of RentBureau.RentBureau’s database collects rental payment histories every 24 hours from its national network of property owners and managers, which currently includes nearly…

Commentary and Data Supplied by Bernard Markstein, Director of Forecasting, National Association of Home BuildersMultifamily StartsStarts in buildings with five or more apartments plunged to their lowest rate on record in April — a seasonally adjusted annual rate of only 78,00 units. This is down 42 percent from March, and down nearly 75 percent year over year.  Although it’s generally wise to exercise caution when attempting to gauge market conditions based on a single month of data, the weakness of a number as low as 78,000 is difficult to overstate.  Reversing this trend would require the return of lenders to…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Miami–The Club at Brickell Bay, The Vue at Brickell, Blue Lagoon and Parc Central are are all buildings that topped the charts for the most foreclosures in 2008. But a lot has changed in a year. Now these very same buildings are among the most active-selling buildings showing significant sales activity in the first quarter of 200, according to a recent study by CondoReports.com. “It is no coincidence that many of last year’s top foreclosure buildings are among the most active in 2009, Adam Cappel, president of CondoReports.com, tells MHN. “Many banks have taken ownership…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSilver Spring, Md.–HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has arranged $24.1 million in financing for Rollingwood Apartments, a 283-unit multifamily community in Silver Spring, Md.HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, Federal Realty Investment Trust, to secure the 10-year, 5.72 percent fixed-rate loan with Wachovia Multifamily Capital Inc. Rollingwood Apartments is located at 2535 Ross Rd. approximately seven miles northwest of downtown Washington, D.C. The property has one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment and townhome units averaging 859 square feet each. Alliant Arranges $3.2M Refi Loan for 64-Unit Townhouse CommunityColorado Springs, Colo.–Alliant Capital has arranged a $3.2…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorElkton, Md.–Love Funding recently arranged FNMA processing to close a $9,625,500 refinance loan for the Apartments at Iron Ridge, a 156-unit multifamily apartment property located in Elkton, Md. The property is located on a 12.9-acre parcel on the eastern side of Iron Hill Road in Cecil County, Md. There are 16 two-story walk-up buildings totaling 174,296 square feet. The community features 14 one-bedroom, 78 two-bedroom and 64 three-bedroom and two-bath units ranging in size from 942 to 1,324 square feet. Amenities include a tennis court, swimming pool, children’s play area, weight room and clubhouse, and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorFranklin, Tenn.–The Franklin Housing Authority (FHA) has selected The Michaels Development Co. from among eight others to assist in the potential redevelopment of its public housing inventory of about 297 units across 60 acres of land.“We want to find a way to make better use of land and create more affordable and workforce housing as well as homeownership housing,” Derwin Jackson, FHA executive director, tells MHN. “While there is no timeline yet, I would like to see it completed within the next five years.”The Michaels Development Co. will be working with the FHA to come…