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Receivers take over when project crashes Job is to find agreement all parties can live with Sometimes it is better to hire a receiver than it is to give up on a commercial property that's in financial straits. That's the conclusion increasing numbers of lenders are coming to as the number of office buildings and shopping centers slipping into foreclosure continues to rise. "It's a busy time," said Jerry McHale, a Fort Myers-based certified public accountant. "I've been doing this for 35 years and I've never been busier." Bill Valenti, president of Florida Gulf Bank in Fort Myers, said hiring a receiver is no easy task. "Well, luckily, I'm not in the situation where I'm looking right now," he said, but when he needs one, matching the receiver to the job at hand is crucial because it's a sensitive job that requires a lot of discretion. "You've got to be able to search back and see what their successes have been," he said. "You want to collect as much money as you can for your shareholders but at the same time a scorched-earth approach to receivership leaves a bad taste in everybody's mouth" and may not be in the bank's long-term interest. Bankers don't typically hire a receiver except in large, complicated situations, he said. "It's not for an everyday commercial foreclosure." Usually, Valenti said, "The bank would hire an attorney to file the foreclosure, and probably a property manager, but a receiver, not really."
That company's sister company, LandQwest Commercial, is available to lease or sell the property if necessary and another sister company based in Ohio is in the business of buying the debt on a property that's in foreclosure. That can be useful because sometimes a bank simply wants out of the situation and might be willing to sell for less than the face value of a note, he said. "Generally it's the larger out-of-state lenders who will take an offer," McHale said. "Say they're owed $20 million on a $15 million property. The investor group says 'You've got a $20 million note; we'll give you $12 million for it today.'" Typically, he said, a borrower will petition the court in a foreclosure to appoint a receiver - the lender can recommend a receiver if it wants to. "I work for the court," McHale said. "I kid that I put on my yellow referee shirt." Generally, Cunningham said, the lender injects cash into the commercial project to keep it in good shape and protect the lender's financial interest. He's the receiver at Palm Pointe, a shopping center on U.S. 41 just south of Page Field in Fort Myers. Huntington Bank filed a foreclosure Aug. 14 against owner TGI Fort Myers 41 LLC, which bought the property for $22 million. LandQwest Commercial is handling the leasing and property management on that assignment, Cunningham said. But receivers often have to hire other experts for a particular task. Cunningham, for example, is in the process to hire a forensic accountant who has the skills to trace where the money has gone for a project. McHale is himself a forensic accountant, but said he sometimes needs to hire a commercial real estate brokerage to handle the leasing. "What I try and do is get the Realtor that is familiar with the type of property I have," he said - that can be a local company if the tenant likely would come from nearby, or a national broker if the space likely could be rented to a national tenant. But a receivership comes to an immediate halt, he said, when bankruptcy is declared - because of possible conflicts of interest, the bankruptcy trustee can't appoint the same receiver who is already in place. Valenti said there are so many factors that a receiver must deal with that the banker inevitably gives him a certain amount of discretion. "When a large commercial comes under duress and a lot of people have their hands out," he said. "It takes a receiver to get some kind of agreement everybody can live with." |
The Tampa Bay Business Journal’s List of largest privately held companies tells readers not only which locally based companies have the greatest revenues and who is running them, but also which have the longest histories and possibly the most promising futures. By showing the years the list makers were founded, the List reveals a diverse economy that has held together during good times troubled times alike.
Commercial Real Estate Listings
| Email: | scunningham@landqwestcommercial.com |
| Office Phone: | 239-275-4922 ext. 225 |
| Fax: | 239-275-4699 |
| Mobile Phone: | 239-910-4085 |
Professional Affiliations/Community Activities: MAI Member of The Appraisal Institute, CCIM Designee of the CCIM Institute, Member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Florida State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser #RZ300, Florida Licensed Broker.
Sales of existing homes in Lee County rose sharply in September as prices continued to drop, according to statistics released this morning by the Florida Association of Realtors.
There were 746 houses sold with the help of a Realtor in September, up 9 percent from 684 in August, the association reported.
Meanwhile, the median price dropped 4 percent to $141,400 in September from $146,900 in August.
Prices have been falling since the collapse of the housing market in late 2005. Since the median price reached its all-time high of $322,300 in December 2005, the price has now fallen 56 percent.
This news paired with the start of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, authorized July 30, 2008, provides governments with a source of funding to respond to rising foreclosures and declining property values.
Florida was allocated $541 million, which includes $91,141,478 awarded to the Department of Community Affairs, under the state’s Community Development Block Grant program, and approximately $450 million allocated directly to 48 local governments.
Eligible uses for the funds include:
• Buying foreclosed homes
• Buying land and property
• Demolishing or rehabilitating abandoned properties
• Offering downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers
• Creating “land banks” to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land for the purpose of stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging re-use or redevelopment of property
All governments must obligate the money within 18 months. If not committed to a program, HUD will recapture the funds and return the money to the taxpayers.
For a complete list of Florida’s city and state governments receiving money along with amount of funds, local foreclosure rates and home abandonment rates (PDF format), go to: HUD Florida city grants. Lee County was allocated over $27 Million in the program, and we are all anxiously awaiting to see how the monies are used locally.
Stephen A. Cunningham; MAI, CCIM
| Email: | scunningham@landqwestcommercial.com |
| Office Phone: | 239-275-4922 ext. 225 |
| Fax: | 239-275-4699 |
| Mobile Phone: | 239-910-4085 |
Spherion Corporation's Florida Employee Confidence Index continued its upward trend in September, increasing 2.2 points.
The Florida Employee Confidence Index increased 4.2 points to 44.1 in August, according to the latest Spherion Employment Report. The monthly survey of Florida workers, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation, reveals that the majority of workers (52 percent) are confident in their ability to find a new job and more believe the economy is remaining the same.
Results from the Florida Employment Report:
| Florida Workers | U.S. Workers | ||||||
| July | August | % Point Change | July | August | % Point Change | ||
| Economy | Getting Stronger | 9% | 7% | -2 | 5% | 8% | +3 |
| Staying Same | 10% | 26% | +16 | 21% | 27% | +6 | |
| Getting Weaker | 81% | 66% | -15 | 74% | 65% | -9 | |
| Job Availability | More Jobs | 9% | 5% | -4 | 10% | 11% | +1 |
| Same Amount | 14% | 26% | +12 | 28% | 29% | +1 | |
| Fewer Jobs | 76% | 69% | -7 | 62% | 60% | -2 | |
| Ability to Find New Job | Confident | 39% | 52% | +13 | 49% | 51% | +2 |
| Neutral | 35% | 25% | -10 | 31% | 31% | 0 | |
| Not Confident | 16% | 13% | -3 | 12% | 11% | -1 | |
| Future of Current Employer | Confident | 60% | 59% | -1 | 66% | 65% | -1 |
| Neutral | 24% | 28% | +4 | 22% | 23% | +1 | |
| Not Confident | 16% | 13% | -3 | 12% | 11% | -1 | |
| Likelihood to Lose Job | Likely | 19% | 13% | -6 | 13% | 13% | 0 |
| Neutral | 15% | 7% | -8 | 11% | 12% | +1 | |
| Not Likely | 66% | 80% | +14 | 76% | 76% | 0 | |
| Likelihood to Look for New Job | Likely | 31% | 32% | +1 | 33% | 37% | +4 |
| Neutral | 10% | 14% | +4 | 11% | 12% | +1 | |
| Not Likely | 59% | 53% | -6 | 56% | 51% | -5 | |
Stephen A. Cunningham; MAI, CCIM
| Email: | scunningham@landqwestcommercial.com |
| Office Phone: | 239-275-4922 ext. 225 |
| Fax: | 239-275-4699 |
| Mobile Phone: | 239-910-4085 |
Florida leads the nation, not only in the number of passengers leaving on their cruises from the state's ports, but also in the number of residents who take cruise vacations, according to a study commissioned for Cruise Lines International Association.
The study found that North American cruise industry contributed $6.06 billion in direct spending to Florida's economy in 2007, up 3.6 percent from the previous year. That spending generated 126,546 jobs and $5.2 billion in income.
Last year, nearly 5 million people boarded cruise ships from one of five Florida ports - Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, Tampa and Jacksonville.
Floridians made up nearly 2.3 million, or 25 percent, of all U.S. resident passengers.
Among other key Florida findings:
• Florida's tourism-related businesses - such as travel agencies, airlines, hotels, restaurants and those that provide ground transportation - were the main beneficiaries of the cruise industry's $6.06 billion in spending, receiving $2.4 billion.
• An additional $835 million was spent with businesses in the following sectors: food processors, chemical manufacturers, advertising agencies, management and technical consulting companies, and manpower agencies.
• Florida continues to have the nation's top three ports for passenger embarkations: Miami, Port Everglades and Port Canaveral.
• Port embarkations in 2006: Miami (1,893,000); Port Canaveral (1,298,000); Port Everglades (1,289,000); Tampa (367,000); Jacksonville (130,000).
• Florida benefits as the primary home to cruise line headquarters for the top three cruise companies that own three-fourths of the North American industry cruise capacity: Carnival Corp. & PLC, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and NCL Corp.
Overall, these three companies employ more than 14,500 people representing 40 percent of the cruise industry employment in the U.S. Nationally, cruise line and passenger spending generated $38 billion in gross economic output, a 6.4 percent increase over 2006, and generated 354,700 American jobs paying $15.4 billion in wages and salaries.
Direct spending by cruise lines, their employees and passengers totaled $18.7 billion.
- South Florida Business Journal
Stephen A. Cunningham; MAI, CCIM
Managing Director
| Email: | scunningham@landqwestcommercial.com |
| Office Phone: | 239-275-4922 ext. 225 |
| Fax: | 239-275-4699 |
| Mobile Phone: | 239-910-4085 |
Professional Affiliations/Community Activities: MAI Member of The Appraisal Institute, CCIM Designee of the CCIM Institute, Member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Florida State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser #RZ300, Florida Licensed Broker.
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Stephen A. Cunningham; MAI, CCIM LandQwest Commercial Managing Principal 12800 University Drive, Suite 150 Fort Myers, FL 33907 Office Phone: 239-275-4922 ext. 225 Mobile Phone: 2
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