A tenant in common, or TIC, offers investors the ability to acquire a percentage of ownership in a real estate property. When the market was strong, particularly in the past few years, many “baby boomers” (and others) repositioned their portfolios, seeking investments that would not require so much time and attention. The TICs appeared to be safe investments that would generate a predictable return on their investments.
Problems arose as the market cooled. Some areas saw an increase in vacancies and a decrease in rents. The restricted cash flow has meant that some investors find the income is not sufficient to make their mortgage payments.
Continue reading “Problems arising with TIC Investments in Commercial Real Estate” »
Commercial Loan Modification, TIC Investment, Troubled Commercial Properties
Unlike traditional mortgages, defaulting on a commercial property does not carry the same stigma, either in financial terms or in how the company is perceived by future lenders. In fact, for some companies defaulting on so-called “underwater” properties, or commercial property that has fallen in value so that the debt owed is greater than the property’s current worth, actually brings them rewards from their shareholders. This is because shareholders prefer to see the funds that could be spent on paying down an underwater loan utilized in other areas of the company.
Continue reading “Commercial Property Owners Choose to Default” »
Commercial Loan Workouts, Defaulting on Commercial Property
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) capitalize on the non-residential real estate market. In light of an uncertain economic environment, the default rate on these mortgages has led to a sharp rise in CMBS defaults. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has since introduced a way of easing the investor pain associated with defaults by actually offering an attractive option: instrument modification.
Known by the IRS as Revenue Procedure 2009-45, this ruling enables loan servicers to choose securitized loan restructure and modification prior to the fiscal instruments’ actually arriving at a default state. Best of all, there are no tax penalties associated with the process. This empowerment places servicers on par with so-called balance-sheet lenders – like pension funds and regional banks — which have all along made frequent use of the practice to navigate through the credit crunch relatively unscathed.
Continue reading “CMBS Loan Modifications” »
CMBS Loans, Commercial Loan Modification