Category: Financial/Economic, Real Estate The Commercial Mortgage-Backed Security Market Is Dead. Long Live The New Commercial Mortgage-Backed Security Market TASA ID: 1813 In the last quarter of 2010, we are beginning to see positive signs of the long awaited and much hoped for return of the CMBS market. At present, the recently enacted SAFE Mortgage and Dodd Frank Wall Street Financial Reform and Consumer Protection Acts appear to have done little to reign in the past practices of Wall Street firms and the conduits that originate and sell CMBS product. Read more
Category: Real Estate The Role of a Lease in Enclosed Mall Shopping Center Development TASA ID: 718 Of all the legal instruments on which a shopping center development is based, the lease between the shopping center developer and the operators of the stores is the most important. Read more
Category: Financial/Economic, Real Estate Mortgage Litigation Update TASA ID: 2590 Mortgage litigation in the U.S. has apparently slowed down significantly this year. The reason, I believe, lies in three major issues and initiatives. Read more
Category: Real Estate Market SOP Drives New BOMA Standard TASA ID: 2012 Most real estate professionals know by now that BOMA released in 2010 a new version of its iconic standard method for measuring floor area in office buildings. When I am asked, "Will the new BOMA Standard change the rentable area of my property or tenants?" my response is always, "It depends." Read more
Category: Financial/Economic, Real Estate The Current Commercial Mortgage Market TASA ID: 1813 In an environment of over demand and under supply, mortgage lenders can "pick and choose" which loans they want to fund while imposing tighter underwriting standards. We have witnessed that since 2009. While becoming a little more liberal, that underwriting trend will continue for some time. Low interest rates and more liberal underwriting standards will undoubtedly benefit many properties, but they can't overcome the real problem for many CMBS borrowers. Read more