As Hurricane Dorian barrels toward South Florida, developers and builders prepare

Across South Florida, developers and builders are securing tower cranes to blow with the wind like a weather vane, putting away debris that could become projectiles and emptying out dumpsters of loose materials as Hurricane Dorian barrels toward Florida’s coastline, projected to become a powerful Category 4 storm. As of Friday afternoon, the hurricane was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour, approaching the Bahamas. South Florida could begin […]

source https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/08/30/as-hurricane-dorian-barrels-toward-south-florida-developers-and-builders-prepare/#new_tab

JPMorgan leads $335M refi for CIM and LIVWRK’s Watchtower renovation

CIM Group and LIVWRK have secured a new, smaller financing package for their redevelopment of the Watchtower Building in Dumbo, formerly home to the headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. City property records recorded on Friday show that the developers have received $335 million in new financing for the project, with JPMorgan Chase as the administrative agent on the loans. This is $40 million less than the $375 million provided by Blackstone and SL Green in […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/30/jpmorgan-leads-335m-refi-for-cim-and-livwrks-watchtower-renovation/

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to put rent regulation, mortgage fraud in the national spotlight

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plans to introduce several of the housing-policy ideas floating around New York state at the federal level, the lawmaker said during a town hall in the Bronx on Thursday. The progressive congresswoman touted her plan to introduce “Just Cause” and Access to Counsel at a federal level. Those policies would mirror New York State Senator Julia Salazar’s failed “Good Cause” eviction bill and the Right to Counsel rule already in place in […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/30/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-wants-to-put-rent-regulation-mortgage-fraud-in-the-national-spotlight/

Authorities will conduct review of Stuy Town deal in light of Blackstone’s vacancy strategy

It was heralded as the most vital affordable housing deal in a generation, but now the city and state are reviewing their agreement with Blackstone Group after new rent regulations drove the landlord to dramatically pull back its investment into Stuyvesant-Town Peter Cooper Village, which it bought for a record $5.3 billion. In 2015, Blackstone, one of the world’s largest financial firms, received a $220 million financing package from the city in exchange for preserving […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/30/authorities-will-conduct-review-of-stuy-town-deal-in-light-of-blackstones-vacancy-strategy/

This seven-story $53M penthouse has been broken up into six units. The first just hit the market for $16M.

In 2017, the seven-story mansion atop the Even Hotel in Turtle Bay hit the market, asking a whopping $53 million. Two years later, that sprawling penthouse at 219 East 44th Street has been carved up into six separate units, instead of being marketed as one nearly 16,600-square-foot pad asking about $3,200 per square foot. The first of the six homes — the duplex penthouse — was listed on Thursday asking $15.8 million. It spans 4,321 […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/30/this-seven-story-53m-penthouse-has-been-broken-up-into-six-units-the-first-just-hit-the-market-for-16m/

The Daily Dirt: The controversy around this High Line luxury project involves cab drivers, strip club owners, FBI agents and more

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Some cab drivers, some strip clubs owners and an FBI agent walk into a High Line luxury project… A project at 11th Avenue and 23rd Street has been delayed for seven years, and the reasons center on the most colorful cast of characters this side of a Mel Brooks movie. A partnership led by Israeli financier Jonathan Leitersdorf owns the leasehold on the rent-stabilized hotel property and […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/30/the-daily-dirt-the-controversy-around-this-high-line-luxury-project-involves-cab-drivers-strip-club-owners-fbi-agents-and-more/

Nashville broker posts oral sex selfie alongside kitchen and pool listing pics

It happens all the time: a broker is showing a home to prospective buyers and almost has them ready to sign a contract, but they pull out at the last minute because they just can’t picture themselves having oral sex in the bedroom. People interested in the 2,900-square-foot four-bedroom home at 137 Saxon Mist Drive in Nashville would likely not have this problem, as Benchmark Realty’s Miguel Calvo uploaded a photo of himself receiving fellatio […]

source https://therealdeal.com/national/2019/08/30/nashville-broker-posts-oral-sex-selfie-alongside-kitchen-and-pool-listing-pics/#new_tab

Introducing ThorLogis, Thor Equities’ ambitious plan to break into logistics and e-commerce

The e-commerce industrial revolution has arrived for Thor Equities. After spending years as a champion of brick-and-mortar stores, the firm is launching a new business called ThorLogis that plans to spend $900 million on purchasing and developing logistics properties, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is already at work on two sites in Red Hook, Brooklyn and the Netherlands. Thor bought the site in Red Hook for $40 million in 2005, and originally intended […]

source https://therealdeal.com/national/2019/08/30/introducing-thorlogis-thor-equities-ambitious-plan-to-break-into-logistics-and-e-commerce/#new_tab

SoFla real estate deals on hold: Insurers delay closings ahead of Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane Dorian is putting real estate deals in a holding pattern as it approaches South Florida. Insurance companies hold the key to any real estate closing that involves a mortgage, so it’s no surprise that a major storm would throw a wrench in a buyer’s plans to close on a property. In recent years, insurers have moved away from using the box method – which meant that if a storm fell within a certain geographic […]

source https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/08/30/sofla-real-estate-deals-on-hold-insurers-delay-closings-ahead-of-hurricane-dorian/#new_tab

Thor Equities makes $900M e-commerce play, New Mexico plans seizure of Epstein compound: Daily digest

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up New York’s biggest real estate news, from breaking news and scoops to announcements and deals. We update this page throughout the day. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com This page was last updated at 9 a.m.   The Hispanic Society Museum and Library has embarked on plans to renovate the 110,000-square-foot museum on the Upper East Side. The museum, which holds Old Master paintings from El […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/30/thor-equities-makes-900m-e-commerce-play-new-mexico-plans-seizure-of-epstein-compound-daily-digest/

NYC developer raises $50M, will hunt for deals in Southern bayous and beaches

Josh Schuster’s Silverback Development has snagged a $50 million capital investment to seed a new Opportunity Zone Fund and expand to additional markets. The three-year-old firm wrapped up a second funding round from Silverpeak, the investment firm co-founded by former Lehman Brothers execs, which has backed Schuster since 2016. The developer said the new tranche will accelerate its expansion to markets including Louisiana and North Carolina, and will also be invested in local projects through […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/30/nyc-developer-raises-50m-will-hunt-for-deals-in-southern-bayous-and-beaches/

Not your mama’s staging job: inside ‘showcasing’ in the Hamptons

There’s staging and then there’s “showcasing.” Ignore the difference between the two at your peril, Hamptons brokers. Rather than staging — which East Hampton designer Greg McKenzie described as setting up a living room and bedroom to look like a hotel room — developers are hiring interior designers to do showcasing, in which they furnish homes down to the very last detail. When a home is showcased, buyers not only get to see it completely […]

source https://therealdeal.com/tristate/issues_articles/not-your-mamas-staging-job/#new_tab#new_tab

Real estate stocks push up this week as U.S.-China trade tensions ease

A renewed optimism for trade talks between the U.S. and China helped push real estate stocks up so far this week, along with the broader stock market. Since Monday, the S&P 500 is up 2 percent. And 19 of the 28 real estate stocks The Real Deal follows — a mix of real estate investment trusts, real estate services firms and technology companies — also made gains for the week. Among TRD’s stock list, CBRE […]

source https://therealdeal.com/national/2019/08/30/real-estate-stocks-push-up-this-week-as-u-s-china-trade-tensions-ease/#new_tab

His development empire in tatters, Boaz Gilad finds a new job

It seems Brooklyn’s most prolific developer has switched over to mortgage lending. Boaz Gilad, the founder of Brookland Capital, recently posted two updates to his LinkedIn profile: one identifying him as a vice president at FM Home Loans in Brooklyn and another identifying him as the founder of Amast Group. FM Home Loans is a mortgage lender in the tristate area and Florida that claims to close roughly $2 billion in loans per year. It […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/29/his-development-empire-in-tatters-boaz-gilad-finds-a-new-job/

Extell lands $690M refinancing package for One Manhattan Square

After closing over a hundred units at One Manhattan Square since March, Gary Barnett’s Extell Development has secured $690 million in new financing for the remainder of the 80-story, 815-unit Two Bridge condo tower. The new debt consists of a $553.5 million senior inventory loan and a $138.2 million mezzanine loan, according to a disclosure filed with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Thursday. Though the deal has yet to be recorded in city property […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/29/extell-lands-690m-refinancing-package-for-one-manhattan-square/

Realogy’s stock drops below $5 per share

Realogy is the biggest brokerage conglomerate in the country. And its stock is now worth $4.75. Shares are down nearly 22 percent since the market opened after Realogy announced changes to a military referral program that will impact its 2020 earnings. The change was disclosed in regulatory filings late Wednesday. In the filings, Realogy said it was ending its current military rewards program, offered through the United Services Automobile Association, a Texas-based financial services company […]

source https://therealdeal.com/national/2019/08/29/realogys-stock-drops-below-5-per-share/#new_tab

Leave the furniture, take the diamond ring: Luxury brokers advise vigilance after fellow agent charged in open-house burglaries

To sell a property, the open house event is a time-honored tradition and stands as a critical component for brokers and potential homebuyers. But for homeowners in some of Los Angeles’ toniest neighborhoods, it has become an increasingly risky proposition. “The concept of an open house is kind of strange. You’re letting strangers into a house,” Rodeo Realty luxury broker Josh Flagg said. “You don’t have to lock up the furniture, but I wouldn’t leave […]

source https://therealdeal.com/la/2019/08/28/leave-the-furniture-take-the-diamond-ring-luxury-brokers-advise-vigilance-after-fellow-agent-charged-in-celebrity-open-house-burglaries/#new_tab

The biggest deals in New Jersey’s Opportunity Zones

Newark, once written off by investors as a forever blighted city, is now a rising star for investment, thanks, in part, to the federal Opportunity Zone program, which provides tax benefits to investors and developers buying and building in low-income neighborhoods. A look at the five biggest transactions on TRD’s list of top Opportunity Zone sales in New Jersey over the last six months shows that some sellers in Newark in particular are cashing out […]

source https://therealdeal.com/tristate/issues_articles/njs-biggest-o-zone-trades/#new_tab#new_tab

Tete-à-tete with TRD: How landlords are dealing with New York’s new rent laws

As the real estate industry grapples with the new rent law, New York landlords have looked for ways to deal with the changes. This week, sources told The Real Deal that Blackstone Group is “warehousing” as many as 50 apartments in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. That news comes just a month after the firm said it was halting renovations in the 11,000-unit complex as a result of the changes to the rent law. […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/29/tete-a-tete-with-trd-how-landlords-are-dealing-with-new-yorks-new-rent-laws/

iBuyer startup Opendoor launching new home loan program

Opendoor, an instant-homebuying startup with a valuation of $3.8 billion, is moving into lending. The company announced its newest program, Opendoor Home Loans, on Thursday, promising it would make the process of securing a mortgage quicker, simpler and more transparent. Through the Opendoor app, consumers can determine if they pre-qualify for financing, regardless of whether they planned to buy a property through the iBuyer or in the wider market. Opendoor buys homes from individuals and […]

source https://therealdeal.com/national/2019/08/29/ibuyer-startup-opendoor-launching-new-home-loan-program/#new_tab

Epstein’s real estate lawyer under scrutiny, brokerage head expects recession: Daily digest

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up New York’s biggest real estate news, from breaking news and scoops to announcements and deals. We update this page throughout the day. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com   Real estate exec hired to oversee major development on Governors Island. Christopher Tepper, who previously worked for residential real estate builder Hudson Companies Inc, has been hired by the nonprofit that runs Governors Island to lead a […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/29/epsteins-real-estate-lawyer-under-scrutiny-brokerage-head-expects-recession-daily-digest/

Some WeWork landlords wish they didn’t see the IPO filing

With a blockbuster regulatory filing this month, WeWork raised more questions about its impending IPO than it answered. Perhaps no stakeholders read the filing more closely than its own landlords. “There were certain things in that report I would rather have not seen,” Rory Greenberg, a Miami landlord who owns a building entirely occupied by WeWork, said of certain expenditures and loans detailed in the filing, though he would not specify. “Obviously, I’m sure a […]

source https://therealdeal.com/national/2019/08/29/some-wework-landlords-wish-they-didnt-see-the-ipo-filing/#new_tab

Ex-Bear Stearns CEO James Cayne demands co-op records after board rejects 3 buyers

The former CEO of Bear Stearns, James “Jimmy” Cayne, claims a co-op board at 510 Park Avenue has blocked him from selling his sixth-floor apartment because of personal conflicts between Cayne and various board members. In a petition filed in New York’s Supreme Court Tuesday, Cayne demanded access to the board’s books and records to find out why it rejected three prospective buyers without explanation, and denied his request to rent the unit. According to […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/29/ex-bear-stearns-ceo-james-cayne-demands-co-op-records-after-board-rejects-3-buyers/

How an FBI agent, strip club owners and cab drivers decimated this High Line luxury project

Amid the new development boom surrounding the revitalized High Line, the northeast corner of 11th Avenue and 23rd Street boasts a prime location, facing Chelsea Piers with views of the Hudson River. So it’s not surprising that an ambitious Israeli investor scooped up the site back in August 2012. But seven years down the line, the site remains derelict. Passersby looking through the windows of the property can see the abandoned reception desk and lobby […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/29/how-an-fbi-agent-strip-club-owners-and-a-whisper-network-of-cab-drivers-turned-an-israeli-financiers-high-line-project-into-an-absolute-circus/

Goldman Sachs provides $90M loan to refinance hotel in Williamsburg

Goldman Sachs issued an $88.4 million loan to refinance debt at Brooklyn’s Pod Hotel, The Real Deal has learned. It is the third debt issuance to the 249-key budget hotel at 247 Metropolitan Avenue, which was developed by CBSK Ironstate — a partnership between CB Developers, SK Development Group and Ironstate Development. Lionheart Strategic Management, a debt vehicle owned by Fisher Brothers, provided a $10 million mezzanine portion, included in the debt. The debt will […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/08/28/goldman-sachs-provides-90m-loan-to-refinance-hotel-in-williamsburg/