Headlines
Top Story
Housing Finance: Freddie Mac Plans $1.1 Billion Bond Sale
Industry News
Stuyvesant Town Debt Holders Said to Weigh Foreclosure Action
Fifield Forms $600M Apt. Acquisition Fund
Manhattan Apartment Rents and Vacancies Off in 2009
Red Cross Teams With Columbus Apartment Association 
Alaska Apartment Rents Higher Than Normal for Winter Months
Boise Apartment Sector Favors Residents
HFF Arranges $156M for 2,000-Unit Portfolio
Legislative/Legal News
HUD Wants $2 Million Back from MD County for Affordable Housing
New Orleans Rental Permitting Program Getting HUD Scrutiny
Bill Would Prohibit Wisconsin From Collecting Rent From Dead Residents
Inconsistent Inspection Plagues Illinois County Rental Housing
Top Story
Time Warner Cable Community Solutions has proven success partnering with MDU owners, providing quality voice/video/data products to their residents.
Housing Finance: Freddie Mac Plans $1.1 Billion Bond Sale
Digested From "Housing Finance: Freddie Mac Plans $1.1 Billion Bond Sale"
Washington Post (01/14/10) P. A16
Freddie Mac has announced plans to sell nearly $1.1 billion of securities backed by multifamily housing loans. The debt issue is likely to be priced around Jan. 27. Investors will be safeguarded against default on the underlying mortgages by both credit protection created by the deal's structure and a Freddie Mac guarantee. Amid declining demand for private commercial-mortgage-backed securities after property prices began to slump, both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have assumed increasingly larger roles in the apartment-finance market.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Industry News
Benefit by centralizing your property management information in a single database with Yardi Multifamily Suite™. Learn More…
Stuyvesant Town Debt Holders Said to Weigh Foreclosure Action
Digested From "Stuyvesant Town Debt Holders Said to Weigh Foreclosure Action"
Bloomberg (01/13/10) by David M. Levitt
On Jan. 13, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village debt holders demanded payment from Tishman Speyer Properties LP and BlackRock Inc. within 10 days, which some see as a big step toward foreclosing on New York City's biggest apartment community. In a letter, a group led by Winthrop Realty Trust which holds about $300 million in senior mezzanine debt said it plans to pursue "rights and remedies," including a foreclosure sale. New York City Councilman Daniel Garodnick, a Peter Cooper Village resident, remarks, "The sharks are circling in the waters. This is a point of great concern." Late last week, Tishman Speyer and Blackrock missed a $16.1 million payment on the apartments. Their efforts to cover the debt by raising rents were thwarted last fall when the New York Supreme Court ruled in favor of residents who claimed some increases were illegal. The joint venture paid $5.4 billion for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper's 11,200 apartments more than three years ago. This past October, Fitch Ratings valued the property at just $1.8 billion. Tishman Speyer and BlackRock each invested $112.5 million in Stuyvesant Town out of total equity financing of $1.9 billion. In addition, they took out a $3 billion mortgage from Wachovia Bank and $1.4 billion of mezzanine debt. The mortgage was packaged with other commercial property loans and sold as securities. The biggest holders are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. among the other investors.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Fifield Forms $600M Apt. Acquisition Fund
Digested From "Fifield Forms $600M Apt. Acquisition Fund"
GlobeSt.com (01/15/10) by Katie Hinderer
Fifield Realty Partners LLC has formed Fifield Residential Partners IV LLC, a $600-million apartment acquisition fund that will concentrate on buying core-plus and value-add assets in both short-sale and loan-to-own deals. The plan is for the fund to invest up to $200 million cash to purchase up to $600 million in apartments throughout this year. Through the fund, Fifield expects to add more than 5,000 apartments to its current holdings. Fifield President Steven Fifield remarks, "In good times, we build assets. In challenging times, we acquire and upgrade them. This definitely counts as a challenging time. However, because of the state of the current real estate market, there will be some outstanding opportunities in 2010." He adds that most of our acquisitions will be in the $20 million to $50 million range. In addition, the new fund is likely to tap properties nationwide in such markets as Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Phoenix. For some of the older communities, Fifield says the company is prepared to renovate. Often assets that are between 10 and 15 years old need new kitchens and baths and lack such common amenities from today as business centers and larger fitness facilities.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Manhattan Apartment Rents and Vacancies Off in 2009
Digested From "Manhattan Apartment Rents and Vacancies Off in '09"
Reuters (01/14/10) by Nick Zieminski
A new CitiHabits report shows that Manhattan's apartment vacancy rate declined in 2009, as lower rents and better owner incentives attracted more residents. Average Manhattan rents dipped nearly 7 percent in '09 from the year prior. Factoring in such common incentives as one month's free month, researchers calculate that effective rents were down as much as 14 percent. Such major apartment owners as AvalonBay Communities Inc., Equity Residential, Essex Property Trust Inc., Post Properties Inc, and UDR Inc. have all slashed rents and offered perks to retain and attract residents. The average Manhattan rent for a studio apartment was $1,800 in 2009's October-through-December period. A one-bedroom unit rented for $2,400, while a two-bedroom for about $3,400. Manhattan's apartment vacancy rate rose slightly during the fourth quarter, but remained under the 2 percent mark. Vacancies peaked at almost 2.5 percent in February 2009. CitiHabitats states that Manhattan vacancies usually increase from November to December, but the opposite occurred last month. This suggests to some analysts that the market has stabilized. Manhattan ranks as America's largest apartment market
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Red Cross Teams With Columbus Apartment Association
Digested From "Groups Work To Prevent Fatal Apartment Fires"
NBC4i.com (OH) (01/12/10) by Denise Yost
Since the first of the year, nine people have died throughout Ohio in residential fires. Now, local groups are joining together to save lives. For the first time ever, the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus has partnered with the Columbus Apartment Association to address such concerns. Local apartment manager Miami Ratcliff said her maintenance crews periodically encounter fire hazards. Ratcliff commented, "A lot of times, if the [smoke detector's] battery is going dead, people will just take it out so they don't have to listen to it." Apartment residents are advised to conduct checks prior to signing a lease at a community.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Alaska Apartment Rents Higher Than Normal for Winter Months
Digested From "Apartment Rentals Higher Than Normal for Winter Months"
KTUU (Alaska) (01/11/10) by Jackie Bartz
Across Alaska, rental agencies report that apartment communities are bucking a national trend and seeing robust demand from residents. Apartments in Anchorage, for instance, are enjoying between 94 percent and 95 percent occupancy. Property manager Jonathan Woike states, "We have no vacancies at this time, which is really unusual around this time of year. . . . This year, we've actually rented apartments almost at twice the rate we usually do." This is, of course, not the case in the so-called Lower 48 states with Reis Inc. reporting the national apartment vacancy rate having risen to 8 percent from 6.9 percent a year earlier. Alaska's rental agencies say there are multiple reasons for the spike in residents, including an influx of people who are looking to save money by renting rather than buying and others who are former homeowners who have lost their houses. In addition, many apartment residents are students or people moving to Alaska looking for a fresh start.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Boise Apartment Sector Favors Residents
Digested From "Renter's Market?"
KIDK-TV (Idaho) by Danica Lawrence
Apartment communities in and around Boise are starting to get busy again thanks to owners and managers willing to offer some creative incentives to retain existing residents and attract new ones. Meadows Apartments property manager Terry Olson confirms, "We're just starting to get busy again, the winters are typically our slow time as you would probably expect, but business is really picking up just the last few weeks." At the nearby Eagle's Landing apartment community, management will kick in a free carpet cleaning for residents whose lease is up. Rent discounts are also being offered. At the same time, though, federal incentives to first-time buyers is taking some who would have rented apartments off the market and into homes and condos.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
HFF Arranges $156M for 2,000-Unit Portfolio
Digested From "HFF Arranges $156M for 2,000-Unit Portfolio"
GlobeSt.com (01/11/10) by Katie Hinderer
NTS Realty Holdings Limited Partnership confirms that it recently received a $156 million loan to refinance a portfolio of eight apartment communities in four states -- Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The loan was arranged by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP via Freddie Mac's Capital Markets Execution program. Together, the communities contain more than 2,300 apartments. HFF director Matthew Schoenfeldt remarks, "In addition to the exceedingly attractive loan terms delivered to our borrowers, this closing was monumental as it represented the very first crossed-pool funding for Freddie Mac's CME program. The planned enhancements will reinforce the NTS portfolio's status as the preeminent rental communities in their respective markets." The portfolio includes the 464-unit Park Place Apartments in Lexington, Ky and The Grove Whitworth Apartments in Nashville.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Legislative/Legal News
HUD Wants $2 Million Back from MD County for Affordable Housing
Digested From "HUD Wants $2 Million Back from Pr. George's"
Washington Post (01/17/10) P. C1; by Jonathan Mummolo
HUD is looking to reclaim more than $2 million granted to Prince George's County, Md., for affordable housing projects because the county failed to spend the funds within the five-year deadline. Once reclaimed, the $2,154,990 in funds will represent the largest amount the agency has ever taken back from a jurisdiction for missing a spending deadline for HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds. Since HOME's founding in 1992, funds have been reclaimed only 14 times for that reason. The missed deadline comes just months after P.G. County almost lost more than $5 million in HOME funds because of another deadline. The loss of millions of dollars due to an apparent administrative failing was met with outrage in some circles. Rushern L. Baker III (D), a former delegate who is running for county executive, laments, "Failing to secure those dollars is like forgetting to dial 911 when your home is burning down." HUD allows HOME fund recipients two years to reach accords with developers who will use the funds and five years to spend them. Once reclaimed, the money will be allocated to other grant participants nationwide.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
New Orleans Rental Permitting Program Getting HUD Scrutiny
Digested From "St. Bernard Rental Permitting Program Getting HUD Scrutiny"
New Orleans Times-Picayune (LA) (01/11/10) by Chris Kirkham
In New Orleans, HUD officials are now investigating several fair-housing complaints involving the St. Bernard Parish's post-Hurricane Katrina rental permitting program. This comes after a yearlong federal court drama involving the parish's opposition to mixed-income apartments. The permit process has been in place locally since the fourth quarter of 2006, when the Parish Council adopted a plan members said would stabilize property values and prevent an influx of new rental housing in long-established, single-family neighborhoods. The ordinance quickly came under fire from a fair-housing advocacy group in the area, which contended that the law had a discriminatory clause that required Parish Council approval for any leases to residents who were not blood relatives. The council dropped the blood-relative clause after the parish was sued in federal court. However, it continued to require owners to obtain permits to rent out homes in single-family neighborhoods. The parish has yet to enforce language requiring permit applicants to provide evidence they are actually leasing the property.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Bill Would Prohibit Wisconsin From Collecting Rent From Dead Residents
Digested From "Bill Would Prohibit Landlords From Collecting Rent From Deceased Tenants"
La Crosse Tribune (WI) (01/14/10) by Matthew DeFour
Late last year, Wisconsin Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) introduced a bill that would prohibit apartment owners from collecting rent or fees from the estate of a deceased resident. Such a situation happens from time to time, typically with the elderly. The Madison-based Tenant Resource Center, for instance, reports receiving a few dozen calls a year from apartment owners and residents on this issue. Under state law, owners may collect rent from the estate of a deceased person in probate court -- but not from their family members. Black stresses that the majority of apartment owners and their staffers handle such situations with sensitivity. But there are always the exceptions. Opponents of Black's bill say owners rely on lease accords to guarantee their annual income. John Fischer, vice president of the Wisconsin Apartment Association, notes that the typical case entails an owner trying to collect from the estate of an elderly person in probate court. Fischer wonders whether future legislation will seek to prevent a creditor from collecting on a deceased person's car loan or a mortgage. He adds, "We're getting a little bit too close to infringing on standard contract loans." Bob Welch, representing the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin, warns that the legislation could be a disincentive to provide housing for the frail and elderly.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Inconsistent Inspection Plagues Illinois County Rental Housing
Digested From "Inconsistent Inspection Plagues County Rental Housing"
News-Gazette (01/16/10) by Pam G. Dempsey
The Census Bureau reports that Champaign County, Ill., has the highest percentage of occupied rental housing units among the state's metropolitan counties. However, rental-inspection programs are inconsistent across the county with little to no oversight in many parts. Inspections should ensure that rental properties comply with fire safety codes as well as city and national maintenance and building codes. Yet a review of county and city records show that nearly 4,800 of the county's total rental stock has not been subject to inspection, with just over 3,550 of those properties in Champaign alone. When violations are discovered, owners in Champaign and Urbana are routinely given months to make repairs. Furthermore, owners are rarely fined for violations, even after their cases are sent to the cities' legal departments for further action. Housing advocates say low-income residents are particularly vulnerable because they typically lack the financial resources to resolve even such basic housing problems as bad plumbing or lack of smoke detectors. Esther Patt, director of the Champaign-Urbana Tenant Union, says the current systems are tilted in favor of rental housing owners. Still, she acknowledges that most owners make repairs as soon as a resident reports a problem.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Abstract News © Copyright 2010 INFORMATION, INC.
|