The Investor Insights

We’re a nation of renters. That’s what the market is telling us. According to a report from MSNBC.com, “the number of houses occupied by renters rose faster than the pace of new vacancies created by homeowners moving out” (in the last quarter of 2011). Commerce Department data shows that rentals increased by 749,000 in the [...]

Last week, I came across a report from the Institute of Real Estate Management that said loans are really hard to come by for multifamily and commercial property owners. This came straight from the chief legislative and research officer for the Institute of Real Estate Management. That was the message he delivered to the National [...]

We got a glimmer of good news on the commercial lending side of the world from Marcus & Millichap Research… * Constraints on commercial real estate lending eased during the first half of 2010, a trend that should continue as more lenders re-enter the securitization market and life insurance companies pursue a broader range of [...]

Sam Zell, one of my personal real estate investing heroes, has put together a $625 million fund to buy distressed securities backed by assets including commercial real estate. The 67-year-old billionaire filed a private-placement notice last month for Zell Credit Opportunities Fund LP, described as a private-equity fund that received its initial backing from a [...]

This is another topic that seems to generate a lot of confusion for real estate investors – getting a hard money loan for the down payment on a commercial investment property. The problem is that many investors think a 100% loan to cost (LTC) loan is readily available from commercial hard money lenders. Unfortunately, this [...]