For real estate investors who have an acquisition teed up or who need to refinance, the prospects of finding debt today are arguably the bleakest they have been since the financial crisis 15 years ago. Higher interest rates and concerns over growing distress convinced banks and other lenders to move to the sidelines several months ago, thwarting commercial real estate investment sales. In turn, that is fueling broad uncertainty over what properties are really worth, which only begets more unease among banks. But private debt funds, which typically provide short-term rate bridge loans, are more likely to make deals when banks will not, says Jeff Salladin, a managing director with Dallas-based debt fund Revere Capital. That’s because debt funds like Revere raise capital from sophisticated investors to fund their loans, he says, while banks rely on deposits. That subjects banks to stringent regulatory oversight, which is especially intense in today’s debt climate. “All investors dislike uncertainty, and banks are investors by another definition,” states Salladin, who oversees real estate lending for Revere. “As a result, we could be in the first inning of a golden era for debt funds like ourselves, because we’re more flexible in way banks can’t be.” …
