On June 24th, 2002 we closed an $8 million, 30-year fixed rate mortgage for a 100% owner-occupied Fort Lee, NJ Co-op with 128 apartments and 8 professional units. This Co-op was very focused on seeking a long-term fixed-rate loan with no future interest rate risk and no balloon payment. Their 30-year fixed-rate will ensure the stability of their budget. Very importantly, at the end of the first 15 years, this Co-op's prepayment penalty will drop to only 1% percent of the then-remaining loan balance. This will afford them maximum flexibility during the second half of the loan term to seek out even better financing in the event that such financing is available at that point in time. Furthermore, given the long term nature of this loan, it was important to arrange a full commitment for second mortgage financing that will be available in the later years of the loan. This will ensure that funds will be available in, for example, year 17, that can be utilized to fund the inevitable next round of capital improvements and repairs that the future always seems to hold for any Co-op.

· Recently, two Upper West Side Co-ops accepted offers from one of our lenders. The lender is capable of locking their interest rate within 2 weeks of receiving all the necessary documentation. One is a 54-unit, six-story building on Riverside Drive near 79th Street that is obtaining a $1,250,000 underlying mortgage, and the other is a 100-unit, 13-story building between CPW and Columbus that has selected a 15-year fixed rate for its new $5,500,000 mortgage. In both cases, swift and certain rate-lock execution was deemed to be of paramount importance. At times like these, there are volatile changes in interest rates every several days (if not every several hours). Many borrowers are finding speedy execution of the rate lock at the top of their priority list when choosing a new underlying mortgage lender.

© 2008. Gregg Winter. All Rights Reserved.
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January 2003

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