Biscayne Asset Mgmt. closes $8.4M mortgage

TAMPA - Biscayne Asset Management secured a new $8.4 million first mortgage for the acquisition of University Park, a 99,000sf multitenant medical office park across from the University of South Florida.

The five-year loan term is fixed at 6% with a 25-year amortization schedule.

“The collateral is 100% occupied with nationally recognized or investment-grade tenants. The borrower ended up closing with a commercial bank that offered a future advance clause and release provisions for individual buildings to be sold at a later date” says Biscayne’s Managing Director Matthew Fuller.

Franklin Street closes $6.1M sale of notes

TAMPA - Franklin Street Real Estate Services announced a note sale of a two-property multifamily portfolio. The communities are in Northeast Tampa. The notes had an original face value of $6,180,000, originated in late 2006. The properties collateralized by the notes are Regency Palms Apartments, 89 units at 4113 E. Linebaugh Ave. and Oasis Apartments, 61 units at 1503 E. 142nd Ave.

Franklin Street Partners Darron Kattan, Bob Goldfinger and Kevin Kelleher represented both parties.

NorthMarq finds $18M for Lincoln Shores apts.

ST. PETERSBURG - Lee Weaver, senior vice president and senior director of NorthMarq Capital’s Tampa regional office, arranged first mortgage acquisition financing of $18.1 million for Lincoln Shores, a 631-unit multifamily complex in St. Petersburg.

Financing was based on a seven-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule and was arranged for the borrower by NorthMarq through its affiliate, AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance LLC, a Fannie Mae DUS lender.

Franklin Street sells $9M multifamily note

TAMPA - Franklin Street Real Estate Services announced a note sale of a four-property multifamily portfolio. The communities are in North and Central Florida. The note had an original face value of $9,165,000, originated in December of 2004. The properties were in Gainesville, Ocala, Havana and Starke, and comprised a total of 356 units. Franklin Street Partners Darron Kattan, Bob Goldfinger and Kevin Kelleher represented the existing owner and, together with Alfredo Guardado of Assistance Realty International, assisted all parties in the sale. The buyer was a private partnership.

Franklin Street sells $9M multifamily note

TAMPA - Franklin Street Real Estate Services announced a note sale of a four-property multifamily portfolio. The communities are in North and Central Florida. The note had an original face value of $9,165,000, originated in December of 2004. The properties were in Gainesville, Ocala, Havana and Starke, and comprised a total of 356 units.

Franklin Street Partners Darron Kattan, Bob Goldfinger and Kevin Kelleher represented the existing owner and, together with Alfredo Guardado of Assistance Realty International, assisted all parties in the sale.

Mercantile closes $11M in January transactions

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - Mercantile Capital Corp. reports it closed on five commercial property loans worth more than $11.6 million in total project costs in January. The firm ranks as one of the largest providers of U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loans in the nation.

Christopher G. Hurn, president and chief executive officer of Mercantile Capital Corp., said Mercantile Capital’s largest project in January was $4.7 million for the construction and improvements of an existing convenience store in Las Vegas.

Carlton Group to sell $37M in mortgage loans

NEW YORK - Chairman Howard L. Michaels announced that Carlton Group has been retained by a major financial institution to sell $37 million in first-mortgage loans secured by a variety of commercial properties including retail, multifamily and industrial assets in Florida.

These loan assets are among a total of approximately 478 assets being marketed throughout the United States within a $257 million Carlton exclusive loan sale offering.

FBA: Banks ready to lend on solid 2010 projects

TALLAHASSEE - Florida’s banks are looking forward to 2010 as an economic climate that will allow more real estate lending, according to Alex Sanchez, president and CEO of the Florida Bankers Association.

Despite public perception, Sanchez said, banks here have been more than willing to lend during this economic downturn - but regulatory oversight has impeded that in many cases.

“We’ve always been in business. Our doors are open. We are lending as we speak. Obviously the environment is not where we want it to be. We’re not happy with the regulatory environment that exists,” he said.

New loan guidelines help the banks, delay recovery

New federal guidelines that give lenders more freedom to deal with challenging commercial real estate loans are profitable for the economy in the short term but ultimately prolong the recovery phase of the current downturn, according to some observers.

On Oct. 30, the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Financial Institutions

Canyon Capital funds $24M Falcon Square buy

ORLANDO - Canyon Capital Realty Advisors of Los Angeles, Calif., funded a $24.2 million senior bridge loan to Falcon Square Apartments LLC for the acquisition of Falcon Square, a 379-unit, Class A apartment complex located three miles north of Walt Disney World in Orlando.

CBRE finds $23M for apartment purchase

MIAMI - CB Richard Ellis Capital Markets, a Freddie Mac correspondent, has arranged acquisition financing in the amount of $23,195,000 for Archstone Gardens, a multifamily community totaling 300 units in Tamarac. Community amenities include a swimming pool, clubhouse, car wash area, racquetball court, tennis court, and playground.

Terms of the fixed-rate financing include a 10-year term, 30-year amortization with an interest-only period, 75% loan-to-purchase price and very favorable interest rate.

MBA: Originations climb in fourth quarter

LAS VEGAS - Fourth-quarter 2009 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 12% higher than during the same period last year and 15% higher than during the third quarter of 2009, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations.

“Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations picked up in the fourth quarter, but remain at a low level in absolute terms,” said Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research at the MBA.

Mercantile closes $712,000 loan

LAKE MARY - Mercantile Capital Corp. closed a commercial loan for Out-Spoke’N Bike Shops Inc. for $712,000 in total project costs. Out-Spoke’N Bike Shops Inc. is a retail bicycle store that focuses on all aspects of cycling.

MBA study shows low loan maturities

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Mortgage Bankers Association released the results of its 2009 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Survey of Loan Maturity Volumes. The survey indicates that the volume of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt maturing in 2010 and 2011 is relatively low.

Of the $1.45 trillion balance of outstanding mortgages held by non-bank investors, only 13% of the total ($183.9 billion) will mature in 2010 and 7% ($99.8 billion) in 2011. The survey also found that maturities vary considerably by the type of investor holding the loan.

Wall Street Funding starts commercial division

PEMBROKE PINES - Wall Street Funding Group Inc., a privately-owned mortgage company originally founded in 2004 by Gavin Susman, has undergone a major expansion with the establishment of a commercial division.

WSFG provides mortgage programs to commercial real estate owners looking to refinance their existing property or finance a new property, seasoned developers in need of equity to complete large transactions, general new-business owners seeking Small Business Association loans, and investors looking to buy commercial property.