| The Warehouse Line
Recent warehouse lending activity Jan. 26, 2010 By SAM GARCIA |
| Warehouse Lending News |
| Six mortgage banking firms recently negotiated warehouse lines-of-credit for $280 million. But the president of one of those firms warned that warehouse financing is still in short supply.
Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital provided a $100 million credit facility to Associated Estates Realty Corp. on behalf of Freddie Mac, a Dec. 22, 2009, press release indicated. The two-year facility will be secured by non-recourse, non cross-collateralized fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages with terms ranging from five to 10 years. Three warehouse lines were facilitated for “three cornerstone clients” of Coester Appraisal Group, a news release Friday said. The $100 million in financing was negotiated with the help of Coester affiliate Jaymes Financial Inc. “We have clients of all sizes with various business models,” Coaster Chief Executive Officer Brian Coester explained in the statement. “In some form we are able to help them, not just with appraisals, but also with their actual mortgage and banking operation. We have had success helping clients align themselves with banks, sell off buybacks and coordinate bulk purchases on REO properties.” PNC Bank extended LendingTree’s $50 million warehouse line on a limited basis, parent Tree.com Inc. recently announced. LendingTree’s lines were set to expire on Dec. 29, 2009, following PNC’s March 2009 disclosure that it would exit the warehouse lending business that it inherited with the December 2008 acquisition of National City Corp. Charlotte, N.C.-based LendingTree said the extension is good until March 31. “This brief extension, coupled with our two other warehouse lines, enables us to maintain flexibility as we evaluate our longer-term needs and options with respect to our warehouse capacity requirements,” Tree.com Chief Financial Officer Matt Packey said in the statement. First California Mortgage Co., a 2,800-employee company, reported on Jan. 9 that its warehouse line-of-credit was expanded by $30 million through an agreement with a “top-tier” warehouse lender. The Petaluma, Calif.-based mortgage banker, however, said it continues to talk with several new warehouse lenders about a further expansion of funding capacity. First California Vice Chairman and President Christopher K. Hart noted in the statement that “there has been a critical deficiency in warehouse lending capacity since the subprime collapse of 2007,” and the deficiency is slowing the pace of recovery and limiting competition. |
