It's Not Over Yet
| Yesterday, 225 of you gathered at Jenner & Block's new digs on the 45th floor of 353 N. Clark Street for our breakfast on Workouts and Restructurings. Consensus: This ride isn't over. | |||
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Jenner & Block's Don Resnick and Wildman Harrold's David Fischer are currently working out some assets together and also agree on a prognosis: as more cash-flowing properties start requiring workouts, borrowers will be more likely to try to resist efforts by lenders to take their assets, including resorting to bankruptcy. Don says we'll also start to see more litigation, including lender liability claims. David points out that the receiver is selected by the court and won't necessarily do the lenders bidding, so lenders should be careful before demanding one. | |||
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| UGL Equis' Ed Wlodarczyk says today's lending problems come from a number of sources—not just CMBS lending but also mid-size commercial banks and small community banks. He thinks that insufficient capital and deteriorating real estate values won't be able to be refinanced over the next five years, resulting in more REOS. (Sounds bad, but add an "O" and you've got a delicious cookie.) | |||
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Grant Thorton's Paul Melville said that most of the work he's doing with TIC exchanges and REITs is getting very complicated, just as GGP did, because there are so many parties involved, with up to 30 different legal entities vying for their client's interests. Hilco's Ed Terry emphasized that 55% of commercial loans were being held by banks with $5B or less in capital, so borrowers should beware of the possibility of their bank going under. | |||
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| The expansive space displayed north, east, and south views of the city through floor-to-ceiling windows. Jenner & Block moved in late last year on the top floor of the Mesirow Financia l-owned building. | |||
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| Jenner & Block's Michelle McAtee and Kristen Boike showed off their space to Jupiter Realty's Michael Propizzi. Michael tells us Jupiter already has 12 tenants at its brand new apartment at 225 W. Washington, and the sales center doesn't even open till next week. The condo-quality apartments, he says, have received a lot of interest in the slow rental market. Michelle is doing workouts and restructurings (so you know she didn't wander in accidentally) and says she's never seen a time when borrowers have less power. | |||
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| Frontline Real Estate Partners' Matthew Darin and Joshua Joseph flank Pioneer Engineering and Environmental Services' Wayne Smith. The trio recently worked together on the disposition of two buildings for Lakewood Engineering at 501 N. Sacramento and 4400 W. Ohio. Wayne handled the environmental due diligence. | |||
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| UGL Equis' Michael Pontarelli, Coldwell Banker Commercial's Edward Pohn, and Aries Capital's Jeffrey Bucaro here represent the three definitive lifestyle choices by our measure—coffee, OJ, or neither. Michael is working on an office building portfolio disposition, while Jeff is refinancing a $31 million industrial building. Sounds like they've already got workouts and restructurings down! |
