History
Waterstone Multi-Housing Advisors (formerly Waterstone Multi-Family Group) was formed from the ashes of a Special Servicer. Originally planned as a division to handle the excess real estate from the last great recession, Waterstone became a completely independent and wholly owned company in 2012 when deal flow deteriorated and many lenders decided that “pretend and extend” was the pathway forward with many of the troubled assets. Current ownership had a significant background and track record within the Multi-Family arena and decided to gear itself with a focus on Multi-Family assets in secondary and tertiary markets throughout the southeast that offered both yield, and a market niche historically overlooked by many investors. Starting with an advanced knowledge of lending, REMIC rules and special servicing, a solid team that saw to deliver service in these undervalued markets, and a desire to get deals closed, Waterstone has become a strong player throughout the southeast.
Waterstone also prides itself on understanding the entire market and how current financial events effect asset evaluations. We pride ourselves on being able to, as The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky once said: “skate to where the puck is going to be” as we advise our Buyers, Sellers, Clients, and Special Servicers. We identified military markets as growth arenas back in 2015 and led the charge and transactional volume for those markets. We currently see rough waters ahead and have partnered with the auction platforms for future dispositions that require a National reach predicated by the Lender/Servicer and REMIC mandate. While transcending to the highest levels of success with our auction partners, we still have managed to set records in the aforementioned markets on price per door, cap rates and closing times.
Over the past 5 years, our processes and our efforts have produced a closing percentage over 95% regardless of size, location and asset class. We still and will always continue our goal to operate with the highest degree of integrity and extreme level of responsibility to our fiduciary. We do not overinflate our analysis or valuations for the sake of flattering egos and winning business, but instead find that remaining upfront and matter-of-fact will ultimately be far more productive for all parties involved, and this has been borne out time and time again in the history of our firm. Our counsel is not for the weak at heart as our projection of value is consistently within 2-3% of actual sales price.
Asset Evaluation/BPO/BOV
We offer our clients our expertise, knowledge and exceptional understanding of financial underwriting to very accurately estimate a tight range of current real time market value for their assets’ specific location and class. Not only can we evaluate the present day value of the asset, but we have the staff and capabilities to be a trusted consulted partner who can look honestly and objectively to suggest areas of improvement in the many different aspects of operations, management, debt service, insurance costs, etc. This multifaceted viewpoint serves our clients not only through an understanding of current value but also it provides a strategic guideline to maximize value for the future. We have an option for our Special Servicer clients and can perform an abbreviated BPO/BOV in a short time frame.
Disposition Brokerage
It is said that “…a good attorney never asks a question that he already doesn’t know the answer to”, and so should it be in the world of disposition brokerage. Waterstone takes the initial time to evaluate the property thoroughly and has one or more of our strategic lenders evaluate and underwrite the asset prior to ever taking the complex to market. We encourage title updates prior to our first initial marketing blitz so that any “clouds” or title defects can be cured. We also obtain insurance quotes and management options for the property so we will have almost no surprises as we move towards the completed package. We then market the property to a large group of very prequalified buyers through our highly “scrubbed” database that is currently pushing 40,000. This database has been 17 years in the making and includes REITs, pension funds, hedge funds, large and small individual investors and previous approved applicants for Freddie/Fannie and CMBS debt. Once the property goes under contract, we are in constant contact with the buyer, seller and lender as we aggressively try to foresee potential problems, find solutions and orchestrate the entire closing process. No one can guarantee a closing but with title free of defects, insurance in place, management chosen, and lending/underwriting completed before the contract is executed, the odds are in your favor. Although this strategy is extremely rare and unique, we have perfected this approach and it has rewarded us with an incomparable high closing rate amongst the competition (in the high 90’s). Our clients and buyers are extremely pleased with an unsurpassed experience and the complete transaction driven focus as we maximize value for our clients while providing the buyer with a property that performs as we expected when analyzed and underwritten. As the market keeps changing and uncertainty is around every corner, the above process is by far the most intelligent system out there. If a broker ever says at the end of the marketing of your asset that “the market has spoken” when they didn’t hit the anticipated number, please realize that they didn’t complete the work upfront in order to guarantee a closing.
Acquisition Representation
When we find a potential investment opportunity for our clients, our goal is to treat their acquisition as if we were buying it ourselves. In order to achieve this perspective, we begin by analyzing several years of financial statements, market conditions, local competition, and current local and regional fundamentals to indicate the current value as well as the potential of the real estate asset. We study trends, gap analysis, and permitted developments in order to be able to completely understand not just the asset but the market. After our thorough evaluation, we have our strategic allies give their industry specific assessment so that our clients will gain from their expertise and ability and that they may evaluate all aspects of the asset and then give feedback and direction when it comes to lending, management, operations, construction, engineering, analytics, and future disposition strategies. When a property finally passes that many levels to become a potential acquisition, we use our experience and extensive knowledge to negotiate the most competitive pricing for our clients.