$7.5 Million in Fannie Mae Financing Closed in Just 24 Days

 Greystone, a real estate lending, investment and advisory company, today announced it has provided a $7,500,000 Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS^®) loan to refinance 134 units in an apartment community in Raleigh, NC. The loan, provided to Forest Edge Townhomes, LLC, was originated by Dan Sacks and Elie Gabay.  

The 10-year fixed rate loan for Forest Edge Townhomes includes a 30-year amortization. Forest Edge Townhomes is a fractured condominium property in which the borrower owns 134 of the 138 units.

"The loan structure of this deal represents our tenacity to develop creative financing solutions within clients’ time constraints – this one being closed in less than a month," said Joe Mosley, Executive Managing Director and head of Agency lending at Greystone. “In addition, all of the units in this community have rents affordable to renters earning 80% or less of the area median income which helps meet Fannie Mae’s goal of providing workforce housing.”

 “Greystone’s expertise in Agency loans and their tenacity in executing beyond our expectation made this refinance one of our most satisfying finance experiences to date,” said Josh Lapides, Managing Member, Forest Edge Townhomes, LLC.

Greystone, a real estate lending, investment and advisory company, announced that Avrom Forman has joined as Director of Sales Strategy. In this newly created role, Mr. Forman will serve as a strategic advisor to the FHA origination team, reporting directly to Mordecai Rosenberg, head of Greystone’s FHA lending group. 

Mr. Forman was most recently Chief Executive Officer at Eastern Union Funding, a leading national commercial real estate mortgage brokerage based in New York, where for the past two years, he focused on formalizing a sales structure and helped to increase deal volume from $2.3 billion to over $3 billion for two years in a row. Prior to Eastern Union Funding, Mr. Forman served as both Chief Operating Officer and SVP, Corporate & External Affairs at Vivaro Corporation, a telecommunications company, where he led implementation of operational efficiencies and processes.

“Greystone has set ambitious goals for itself over the coming years. We are not just interested in increasing our production levels – we are looking to totally transform the traditional borrower experience. We want to be poised to provide an unparalleled level of service to our customers and Avrom’s holistic and hands-on approach to sales will be critical in meeting that objective,” said Mr. Rosenberg. “My hope is that Avrom will help us realize the goal of Greystone being the easiest lender in the country to work with, and the easiest lender in the country to work for,” he added. 

“Our industry moves at light speed, and my vision for Greystone’s origination team is to become a scalable, highly adaptable salesforce that can create – and execute on – the right financing solution at the right time for existing and new clients,” said Mr. Forman. 

Mr. Forman added, “As product integration becomes a unifying pillar here at Greystone, with the focus being on what best serves the client, we will be able to amplify our reputation of stellar service and reliable executions.”

Greystone, a real estate lending, investment, and advisory company, announced its Real Estate Advisors group has added a senior team from Denver-based Cambridge Housing Partners. The team specializes in the acquisition and preservation of Low Income Housing Tax Credit and Project‐Based Section 8 communities nationwide, bringing a combined 50 years of experience in successful affordable housing redevelopment activity across more than 25 states. The group’s experience includes managing all aspects of highly complex affordable housing transactions including originations, underwriting, project finance, property management, compliance, financial reporting, construction and resident services.

David P. Garcia, previously Managing Director of CHP, along with former principals Jeff Dean and Zach Chenault, join Aaron Hargrove and Eric Taylor of Greystone, two leading affordable housing investment sales advisors. The addition of Garcia and his team enables Greystone to amplify its industry relationships and acquisitions expertise in complex programs such as 4% LIHTC and tax-exempt bonds; 9% LIHTCs; project-based-Section 8 subsidies; AHP funds; CDBG/HOME funds, state tax credits; S&P rated 501(c)(3) bonds; and direct placement 501(c)(3) bonds, as well as multiple types of credit-enhancements and conventional financing products. Throughout their careers, Garcia, Dean, and Chenault have acquired and developed more than 100 properties totaling 13,000+ units with a value in excess of $1 Billion.

“David and his team have spent the past 15 years acquiring and redeveloping affordable housing from the principal side, optimizing financial structures and analyzing the available subsidies that are necessary to make affordable housing viable. Their experience and the way they view affordable transactions matches that of the top affordable buyers in the country,” said Hargrove, a Managing Director of Greystone’s Real Estate Advisors’ Affordable Housing Advisory Group. “Greystone will now be unique among affordable housing advisory groups by offering crossover expertise in LIHTC and Section 8, in addition to the ability to underwrite transactions as expertly as its buyer pool would,” he added.

“Bringing the former CHP team on board enables us to provide our clients with advisory capabilities that until now only the most sophisticated affordable buyers could provide for themselves in-house,” said Taylor, also a Managing Director of Greystone Real Estate Advisors’ Affordable Housing Advisory Group.

Greystone’s Affordable Housing Advisory Group now has a team with 65 collective years of industry-specific experience and a successful track record of transacting 250+ properties totaling 50,000+ units in 25+ states nationwide. Combined with Greystone’s industry-leading financing and servicing platform, this specialized affordable team is able to provide custom-tailored solutions in disciplines ranging from Investment Acquisitions, Dispositions, Debt Placement, Mortgage Banking, Servicing, to Private Equity alternatives.

“By assembling such a deep and experienced team, Greystone has demonstrated its commitment to becoming the leading affordable housing investment sales and advisory team in the nation. We are prepared to handle the scale and unique expertise that this sector demands,” said Greystone Real Estate Advisors President, Jim McDevitt. 

Greystone, a New York-based real estate development, lending and advisory company, announced the closing of $28.25 million in financing for the construction of 1501 SW 37^th Avenue, a mixed-use apartment tower in Miami. The project lies on an approximately 34,000 square foot (net) lot that will be developed into approximately 91,000 square feet of residential and 6,500 square feet (net) of ground-floor retail space.

The $28.25 million in financing consists of a $22 million construction loan from Fifth Third Bank and a $6.25 million mezzanine loan provided by Terra Capital Partners.

“While the financing market has chilled considerably for ground-up construction in Miami, it was refreshing to find capital sources like Fifth Third Bank and Terra that made the effort to understand our project,” said Jeff Baevsky, Senior Managing Director of Greystone. “The reality is that while there may be some shadow inventory concern, there are few, well located, purpose built rental apartment buildings in the Miami MSA. We successfully built and sold a very similar project, The Mile, in the Coral Gables submarket and remain bullish.”

1501 SW 37^th Avenue, a ground-up 14-story building designed by Borges and Associates, will include 100 residences with one- and two-bedroom apartments. All units are anticipated to have private balconies, with two townhouse-style units boasting rooftop terraces. Amenities will include an outdoor pool and spa, club room, business center and a fully equipped, 24-hour fitness center. The property is ideally situated within walking distance to Downtown Coral Gables and Miracle Mile. 1501 SW 37^th Avenue is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2018.

“This is a beautifully designed and well-conceived project breaking ground just as another nearby Greystone project was successfully sold proving Greystone’s capabilities and market acceptance” noted Dan Hartman, Managing Director of Terra Capital Partners.  “We are very pleased to be partners with a top quality developer such as Greystone and look forward to future opportunities.”

Greystone also is currently developing 2500 Biscayne Boulevard, a 20-story luxury apartment complex with street level retail located near Biscayne Bay. 2500 Biscayne was acquired by Greystone in May 2014 as a 45,365 square foot (1.04 acre) parcel of land in the Edgewater district of Miami. The project is currently being developed into a 156-unit mixed-use property boasting 11,000 square feet of street-level retail. 

Greystone, a real estate lending, investment and advisory company, announced that David Varca has joined as a Managing Director for Healthcare Finance. Based in Chicago, Mr. Varca will report to Mordecai Rosenberg, head of Greystone’s FHA lending group. In his new role, Mr. Varca will be responsible for originating FHA-insured and bridge loans, with an emphasis on providing financing for skilled nursing facilities nationwide.

Mr. Varca brings to Greystone more than 15 years of healthcare lending experience. Prior to Greystone, he worked at Ares Management, L.P., where he served as Principal and was responsible for developing and managing senior housing and long term care balance sheet lending for the company. Before Ares Management, L.P., Mr. Varca was Senior Vice President & National Head of Senior Housing and Long Term Care Banking at Popular Community Bank. Prior to Popular Community Bank, he served as Client Manager at Bank of America, Vice President at LaSalle Bank, and Assistant Vice President at Bank One, among other positions. Mr. Varca received his Bachelor of Science in Economics and Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Purdue University.

“Healthcare lending is a specialized discipline that requires an incredible amount of diligence, fortitude and stellar client service skills,” said Mr. Rosenberg. “In addition to possessing these qualities, David brings an extensive amount of industry and finance experience. His contributions will prove to be invaluable as Greystone continues to grow its healthcare lending platform.” 

A Top-5 Fannie Mae Affordable and Small Loans Lender, Greystone is Poised to Combine These Disciplines with Stellar Results

Greystone, a real estate lending, investment and advisory company, is working with Fannie Mae on a new Multifamily Affordable Housing (MAH) financing enhancement to Fannie Mae’s underwriting guidelines for small loans. The new financing option enables Greystone to leverage its existing, top-rated MAH finance expertise for acquisitions and refinancings of smaller affordable housing properties requiring loans up to $5 million.  

To qualify for the new Fannie Mae MAH Small Loan financing, properties must meet specific rent, income and/or occupancy restrictions, including one of the following:

·         At least 20% of all units have rent or income restrictions in place such that the rents charged for those units are affordable to households earning no more than 50% of Area Median Income (“AMI”) as adjusted for family size;

·         At least 40% of all units have rent or income restrictions in place such that the rents charged for those units are affordable to households earning no more than 60% of AMI as adjusted for family size;

·         At least 20% of all units are subject to a Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract; or

·         The property (i) has other rent and/or income restrictions, and (ii) meets a noteworthy special public purpose. Such a property may be considered on a waiver basis for eligibility as an MAH Property.

The maximum size loan available through this program ranges from $3 million to $5 million, depending on the geographical region. The loans include fixed rate and adjustable rate at 7-year terms or longer.

"The new Fannie Mae Small Loans financing parameters for affordable housing are a game changer for the affordable sector, opening up a fantastic permanent loan option for owners and investors of affordable housing nationwide," said Jeff Englund, Senior Managing Director and head of Greystone’s Affordable Housing financing group. “With our long-established practices in both affordable and small loan executions, we have the speed and efficiency to ramp up quickly on this new product.”

Mr. Englund added, “Enabling attainable financing for income- and age-restricted communities is critical to the survival of much-needed affordable housing in the U.S., and Greystone remains committed to this sector as a leader in affordable housing finance.”   

Greystone provides mortgage finance solutions across multiple platforms, including FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, USDA, CMBS, bridge, mezzanine and other proprietary loan programs.