$31,400,000
Mid-Atlantic
Preferred Equity Acquisition - Mid-Atlantic
Overview:
Our client engaged us to raise preferred equity for the recapitalization of a $240 million multifamily portfolio comprising 1,200 units across the Mid-Atlantic. The urgency stemmed from a maturing acquisition bridge loan, while the available fixed-rate refinance loan fell over $30 million short of the outstanding balance—potentially requiring a significant equity cash-in to close.
Assignment:
The shortfall was driven by LTV constraints, not property performance—cash flow was strong and trending upward. The key challenge was finding a preferred equity partner willing to underwrite off in-place cash flow and future NOI growth, rather than being deterred by the high LTV alone.
Process & Execution:
We ran a competitive capital markets process and sourced multiple offers. However, nearly all proposals came in well below the required proceeds—including from the investor we ultimately closed with. Their initial offer was for $15 million, and it included a profit participation component.
Over several months, we worked closely with the investor and negotiated:
- An upsized commitment to $31.4 million—more than double the original offer
- Complete removal of the participation requirement
- A 175 bps reduction in the preferred equity rate
All while pushing leverage to 95% of value, without compromising execution certainty or timelines.
Result:
We delivered a market-best outcome at super high leverage, enabling our client to:
- Avoid a maturity default
- Close without a capital call or outside equity partner
- Lock in an above-market rate for this level of leverage
- Retain full ownership and control of the asset
$10,500,000
Phoenix, AZ
Preferred Equity Acquisition - Phoenix, AZ
Overview:
In late June, we were contacted by a long-standing relationship who had yet to transact with us. He was under contract to acquire a newly built 286-unit property in Phoenix, AZ, using a Fannie Mae senior loan. Due to the property’s early lease-up phase and unproven rents, the deal was LTV-constrained to ~55%, creating the need for accretive preferred equity to bridge the gap.
Challenge:
The sponsor had originally sourced a preferred equity partner directly, but they backed out with only 30 days to TOE closing. With limited time, no clear backup, and millions at risk, the sponsor needed a fast, reliable solution to close on schedule.
Execution:
We immediately mobilized our process and within one week:
- Generated 8 offers and 4 formal term sheets
- Navigated FNMA agency pref equity requirements
- Procured $10.5 million in preferred equity from a well-capitalized provider
- Structured terms that aligned with the Fannie Mae senior and the sponsor’s return thresholds
Result:
We closed on time, avoided a costly extension or cancellation, and allowed the sponsor to acquire the asset without renegotiating or retrading the PSA—a critical outcome in a tight capital and transaction window.
$40,000,000
Central, NJ
Preferred Equity Acquisition - NJ
Overview:
Our client approached us to raise preferred equity for a $210 million multifamily acquisition comprising 900 units located in central NJ that had an in-place Freddie Mac senior loan, and a floating-rate supplemental loan, both that needed to be assumed as part of the acquisition. The challenge was to source subordinate capital compatible with agency guidelines, pricing sensitivity, and the ability to sit behind a combination of fixed and floating rate debt, and finally to match up the term remaining on the in place debt.
Assignment:
We ran a highly competitive process that resulted in 18 bonafide offers and term sheets from a wide range of institutional investors. We ultimately procured $30,000,000 of preferred equity at a rate of 10.75% that checked all the required boxes, sourced from the balance sheet of an overseas global investment bank and asset manager.
In the final stages of the deal, just 10 days before closing, the sponsor needed an additional $10,000,000. Given our deep understanding of the macro pref market, and the homework we did in understanding the sub-market and competitive set, we were able to convince the investor to push up their investment to $40,000,000 that resulted in a last dollar pref investment of 90% of purchase price.
Result:
We delivered market-best execution in a highly structured deal, preserved senior lender compliance, and met an aggressive closing timeline while accommodating a late-stage capital need for our client to successfully close on a large institutional multifamily asset.
$11,500,000
Columbia
Core Plus -
Heron Lake, Columbia, SC
Overview:
We were retained by a client that was purchasing a property in Columbia, SC with in-place HUD financing that had to be assumed, and wasn’t the most favorable to the deal given the long-term nature of the loan, and the inability to “cash out” upon any value creation via a traditional refinance or supplemental loan, while simultaneously being too cost prohibitive to pay off when acquiring the deal.
Suffice it to say, challenging debt often makes it nearly impossible to attract quality equity; however, our client owned other assets in the immediate area, and felt that despite “bad” debt being assumed, the overall basis was good, and there was a sufficient long-term upside in the deal, and so he insisted on purchasing the property and having us secure the equity for him.
Within days of coming to market, we identified a family office with a timely 1031 that was the perfect fit, and that didn’t mind the cost of paying off the HUD loan as the new debt structure would better align with their 1031 needs, and further give them the ability to almost fully “cash out” their equity investment upon execution of a light value-add program our client had planned, and thus preferred to be in a short-term loan instead of the long- term in-place HUD loan.
Result:
Within a week of initial contact, the deal was signed up, and closed within 30 days to accommodate the 1031 investors timing, who ultimately invested $11,500,000 into the deal.
$35,250,000
Philadelphia
Value Add -
Pennsylvania Portfolio
Overview:
A client approached us several years ago with a lead on an off-market portfolio in Pennsylvania and asked if we can assist them with securing the equity. We immediately identified a suitable investor we knew would work for this client and specific transaction and brought them down to tour the properties.
Unfortunately, the seller dragged his feet, as this was his only asset he had left to sell off before going into retirement, and seemed to be in no rush to complete a sale.
We ultimately tracked the deal for two years before the seller finally executed a contract with our client. However, once a contract was signed and proper access to due diligence began, it became clear this would not be an easy takeover as the seller did not maintain proper records, despite the fact that he had owned the properties for over 60 years.
This disorganization and the inability of the seller to provide even a simple 12-month historical P&L ended up being a roadblock for our original investor; however, despite these issues, having known the property and been tracking it for 2 years, we were able to convince another investor to come and do the deal, outlining all the significant upside our client would be able to attain given the seller’s ineptitude at proper record keeping, and having long ago taken his eye off the ball.
Result:
The end result was our investor came in with an investment of over $35,000,000. Today the property is performing well above the pro-forma and has been successful for all parties involved.
$23,900,000
New York
Opportunistic -
LIC Development
Overview:
We received a call from a client in late December of 2018 that they had just gone into a hard contract on a parcel of land in LIC that was located in an Opportunity Zone. They were scheduled to close in March 2019, and they were looking to retain us to secure equity for the project.
The challenge with the deal was that despite the fact that it was located in an Opportunity Zone, and was an “as of right” development, many investors don’t like coming into a deal until it’s shovel-ready, which it would not be at the scheduled closing time. Given the recent announcement of Amazon plotting its flag in LIC, we were able to ride the coattails of the announcement and, notwithstanding the typical challenges mentioned, bring an investor into the deal to close at the scheduled time.
However, before we knew it, Amazon pulled out of NYC in February, and our deal suddenly came to a screeching halt. With some creative deal structuring, we were able to convince the investor to make a loan to the client, giving him the ability to still close on the land on time, while at the same time, in exchange for the loan, providing the investor an option to still invest the equity once things settled down.
Result:
Ultimately the investor picked up their option which resulted in an investment of $23,900,000 of equity into the project.
$20,000,000
Danbury
Core Plus -
Danbury, CT Acquisition
Overview:
A client went to contract on a large multi-family deal in Danbury, CT with a commitment to the seller to close in 6 weeks from date of contract execution. We received a call immediately upon contract execution and were given the assignment to assist in securing equity for the deal.
Despite already having a decent portfolio in several states in the NE, this was the client’s first deal in CT, so he was entering a new market, and this would have been his first deal partnering up with an institutional investor in a JV partnership.
Furthermore, we were retained in the last week of July, giving us one of the most challenging months to close a deal, as many people travel in August and late summer through Labor Day, providing a challenging environment to execute in a timely fashion.
Result:
Notwithstanding all these challenges, within days we identified a JV partner for the project, and though they required an extra layer of diligence that needed to be conducted by a “big 4” accounting firm due to their structure, from the day of our initial intro call until closing, we were able to get the deal closed on time before Labor Day, and in only 5 weeks from start to finish with this investor coming into the deal with a $20,000,000 investment.