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FeaturesMultifamilySeniors Housing

When It Comes to Seniors Housing, GSEs Are Down, But Not Out

by Taylor Williams

By Jeff Shaw Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae — collectively known as the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) — have been on divergent paths in recent years when it comes to lending in the seniors housing sector. As specifically regards current activity, Freddie Mac is in the midst of a transaction rally, while Fannie Mae is enduring a wave of delinquencies fueled by seniors housing loans. The two lenders posted similar deal volumes in 2019 before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with both closing over $3 billion in loans that year. While loan closings fell during and after that pandemic, the difference in scale of that drop is significant. While Freddie’s annual volume has not fallen below $2 billion, Fannie’s has stayed at or below $1 billion for four years running, and volume fell 50 percent from $1 billion in 2022 to $500 million in 2023. It’s not hard to see why Fannie Mae is doing less seniors housing business. The organization has a delinquency problem in the sector. Chryssa Halley, Fannie Mae’s CFO, called out the problem on the full-year 2023 financial results conference call. “Our multifamily serious delinquency rate increased to 46 basis points as of Dec. 31, 2023, …

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PACE Appeal Rafi Golberstein
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C-PACE Maintains Appeal in Lower Interest Rate Environment

by Sarah Daniels

The Federal Reserve’s decision to begin aggressively hiking the federal funds rate in 2022 threw the commercial real estate market into turmoil. Property investors found it difficult to refinance much cheaper short-term loans that were often used to renovate or develop properties. However, the interest rate spike greatly enhanced the viability of commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) financing, a type of loan that becomes an assessment that borrowers pay along with their tax bill. The program emerged more than a decade ago and generally pays for energy, water and seismic resiliency upgrades in new construction and rehabs, including retroactively. As a result, developers embraced C-PACE as they sought ways to pay down debt to secure new financing or loan extensions and modifications. Now that the Federal Reserve has reversed course with its 50-basis-point federal funds rate reduction in September — and with Wall Street anticipating additional rate cuts before the end of the year — will C-PACE demand start to cool? Don’t count on it, says Rafi Golberstein, founder and CEO of PACE Loan Group, a direct lender of C-PACE financing based in Minneapolis, Minn. From the competitive cost of capital to the continued restraints on bank lending, C-PACE …

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FeaturesMultifamilyOffice

Lower Property Tax Assessments Are Achievable for Office-to-Residential Conversions

by Katie Sloan

The conversion of obsolete office buildings to new uses is a growing trend in many markets, especially in dense urban centers. Unfortunately, properties under reconstruction can continue to incur hefty property tax bills, even when the asset lacks a rent stream to help offset the owner’s costs. The right arguments can help these taxpayers reduce their property tax liability during a building conversion, however, and set the stage for an accurate, fair assessment of the asset’s adjusted market value under its new use. The taxpayer’s challenge is to understand how reconstruction affects market value and to show assessors how those forces affect taxable value. Obsolescence and opportunity Demand for office space was already faltering when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated occupancy declines. Since then, remote work and space sharing among office workers has further reduced the amount of offices companies need, with many tenants returning space to property owners as leases mature.  Normally, appraisers value multitenant office buildings under an income approach, attributing rental income per square foot as a starting point for valuation. When the space loses market viability, the per-square-foot rent variable declines and lowers the net valuation for tax purposes. Expanding this result over an entire central business …

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FeaturesGeorgiaMultifamilySoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

How Multifamily Owners Can Guard Against Renter Fraud

by John Nelson

Scammers lurk in the background of virtually every industry, and the multifamily sector is no exception. Some renters will leap at the chance to exploit loopholes in the system and take advantage of unprepared landlords. “As a baseline definition, we classify rent fraud as any act of intentional deception by a renter to deceive the property owners to gain financial or personal benefit,” says Josh Albrechtsen, senior vice president and general manager of front office solutions at RealPage. “Fraud is evolving constantly. This is not a one-and-done problem solve. The trends and behaviors of the fraudsters indicate an ongoing chess match.” Unfortunately, renter fraud is increasingly common. In January, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) released the results of a fraud survey, which collected responses from 75 property owners, developers and managers. A whopping 93 percent of survey respondents stated that they had experienced fraud over the past 12 months. Additionally, 71 percent of respondents had encountered increased fraud activity in the last year. Snappt, which specializes in assisting apartment property managers with document fraud detection, reported that of the nearly 3.3 million application documents its platform scanned in 2023, approximately 177,000 were fraudulent. That represents an average fraud rate …

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FeaturesLouisianaSoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

The Supreme Court Takes on Tax Takings

by John Nelson

By Angela Adolph, Esq. of Kean Miller LLP Federal courts rarely adjudicate property tax matters, which have traditionally been the province of state courts. In May 2023, however, the U. S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in a case that squared state property tax law up against the Fifth Amendment takings clause, which prohibits taking private property for public use without just compensation. Taken for taxes The events leading to Tyler vs. Hennepin County began in 1999, when Geraldine Tyler purchased a Minneapolis condominium that she occupied until she moved into a seniors housing community in 2010. Tyler retained ownership of the condominium but failed to pay property taxes on it for several years, resulting in approximately $2,300 in unpaid taxes and $13,000 in interest and penalties. Acting in accordance with Minnesota tax forfeiture procedures, Hennepin County seized the condominium and sold it for $40,000. This extinguished Ms. Tyler’s $15,000 tax debt, and Hennepin County kept the remaining $25,000. Minnesota’s tax forfeiture procedure required the county to give the delinquent taxpayer adequate notice of the tax sale; notably, the procedure lacked a mechanism for a delinquent taxpayer to assert a claim to any sale proceeds remaining after paying off …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesMultifamilySeniors Housing

InterFace Panel: Seniors Housing Investors Are Cautiously Optimistic

by Taylor Williams

By Channing Hamilton ATLANTA — Investment markets have been tumultuous over the past year, with high interest rates and inflation impacting the flow of debt and equity across the commercial real estate industry. Last year, many investors and brokers chose to weather the storm and try to make it to 2025, when it was estimated that interest rates would begin to moderate. Recently, however, conditions seem to be improving in the seniors housing sector, where many investors are leaving behind the “survive till 2025” strategy that defined 2023. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe.  “The relative positioning of seniors housing compared with other real estate asset classes has improved dramatically since last year,” said Blake Peeper, senior managing director of Bridge Investment Group, which is based in Salt Lake City. Peeper attributed his optimism in the seniors housing sector to a variety of factors. “Supply and demand dynamics are in our favor,” he explained. “There’s been a lot of confidence in future net operating income (NOI) growth, and the bid-ask spread has really narrowed. All of that …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesMultifamilySeniors Housing

InterFace Panel: Seniors Housing Operators Must Embrace Healthcare-Based Models

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams ATLANTA — Seniors housing has long been established as a viable property type within the spectrum of commercial real estate investment, and at the institutional level, major seniors housing owners oftentimes happen to be major healthcare owners as well. The pairing is only logical. Seniors tend to require disproportionate amounts of healthcare resources, which is why ideal sites for their residential facilities tend to have proximity to hospitals. It also explains why the staffers who make these facilities run often have medical training backgrounds. Therefore, to continue to evolve as an asset class and investment proposition, it follows that seniors housing owners must, from top to bottom, deepen their embrace of healthcare technologies and operating philosophies within their properties. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. At the InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference in Atlanta in late August, several panelists representing prominent owner-operators encouraged a crowd of 400-plus attendees at the Westin Buckhead Hotel to do just that. Incorporating both tangible and intangible features of pure-play healthcare properties and operations reflects an …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesGeorgiaSeniors HousingSoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

Technology Can Complement — But Never Replace — The Human Touch in Seniors Housing Communities, Say InterFace Panelists

by John Nelson

ATLANTA — Though the older population is often seen as removed from modern technology, tech products offer great promise to the seniors housing sector. Participants in the “Technology Revolution: Enhancing Resident Care and Operational Cost Effectiveness” panel at the InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference (held recently in Atlanta) all agreed on this point. Importantly though, the panel — which was moderated by Mark Petty, vice president of corporate accounts with ICON — also highlighted the fact that seniors housing is an industry rooted in human interaction. Given this fact, the panelists concluded that technology can complement and enhance, but never replace, the human touch. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Three Questions A strategic approach in the purchase and application of technology within seniors housing communities is paramount, pointed out Joe Jasmon, CEO and managing partner of American Healthcare Management Group. In addition to being highly helpful, the products offered by tech companies can be costly. “To have tech just to have tech is really a waste of time, effort and money,” asserted Jasmon. …

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Features

Artificial Intelligence: The Next Frontier in Real Estate, Capital Raising

by Taylor Williams

By Ari Rastegar, founder, CEO, Rastegar Property Co. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just the future — it’s the present. This technology is reshaping industries across the globe, from virtual assistants to autonomous vehicles and beyond. As AI becomes a dominant force, it’s critical that industries, particularly real estate, embrace this transformative technology to unlock unprecedented value. The real estate industry has been historically slow to adopt cutting-edge technologies, but this delay presents a golden opportunity. Those of us who invest now, who see the future coming and align ourselves with it, stand to revolutionize the industry. At Rastegar, we’ve long been focused on identifying trends before they emerge. We see AI as one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal, both domestically and internationally. It’s not just about improving efficiencies or enhancing the customer experience — it’s about rethinking the very way capital is raised, assets are selected and operations are managed. This is a new era, and we are stepping into it full throttle. Rastegar has recently appointed its first chief technology officer, a move that underscores our commitment to building custom, in-house AI solutions tailored to our vision of the future. The level of technological …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesGeorgiaSeniors HousingSoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

Expect Seniors Housing Liquidity Issues to Persist Into 2025, Says InterFace Panel

by John Nelson

As a bridge lender across the full spectrum of seniors housing, Live Oak Bank has been able to capitalize on the limited liquidity in today’s market that has resulted in stalled transactions and refinancing challenges in this niche property sector.  “Trust me, I have a certain advantage right now with the lack of lenders [active in the space], and I enjoy that because it enables me to be very strategic on relationships and the people that I choose to partner with and grow. But having liquidity back in our market is necessary for a healthy seniors sector,” believes Chad Borst, managing director of seniors housing at Live Oak Bank, headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Borst would like to see banks that moved to the sidelines in recent years due to the disruption in the capital markets return to the playing field. “I want the permanent financing market to open up more broadly. I want other banks to come back because it will help the overall health of our …

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