NEW YORK, NY - Richard Bassuk, CEO of The Greystone Bassuk Group, announced today the completion of a $586 million refinancing initiative for Maxx Properties ("Maxx") covering a portfolio of 34 multifamily residential apartment properties located in New York, Florida, Nebraska, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado. Maxx is an 80-year old real estate firm now operating under the fourth generation of Wiener family leadership.
"Greystone Bassuk worked closely with Maxx over a period of approximately two years to develop and implement a comprehensive financing program that enabled the company to significantly upgrade and reposition its portfolio while freeing up substantial capital to reinvest in the expansion of their business," said Bassuk.
The Group advised Maxx to finance its extensive renovation program with a combination of individual HUD and Agency mortgages, which provided the most attractive mix of low interest rates and term. Further, the refinancing program was completed without any cross-collateralization of the underlying properties. One particularly attractive aspect of the program is that many of the HUD mortgages were able to be sized based on the "projected" rents the properties were expected to achieve after the proposed renovations were complete (vs. current in-place rents), which allowed Maxx to finance the improvements with a minimal capital outlay. After paying prepayment penalties and all closing costs, Greystone Bassuks strategy generated more than $100 million of excess cash proceeds which Maxx has begun to use in connection with its strategic and business objectives.
Robert Wiener, Chairman of Maxx Properties, said "This ingenious refinancing program was conceived by Mr. Bassuk and enabled Maxx to renovate apartments to a higher standard, eliminate deferred maintenance and realize substantial cash proceeds while reducing the overall debt service on our portfolio."
"It has been a pleasure working with Greystone Bassuk," said Rick Wiener, CEO of Maxx Properties. "They bring to the transaction unparalleled dedication, expertise, and follow through. We believe it unlikely that a program of this scope could have been successfully completed by any other financial intermediary with whom we previously had experience, and we look forward to working with Greystone Bassuk in the years ahead."
About The Greystone Bassuk Group: The Greystone Bassuk Group is a full-service real estate capital intermediary and advisory firm serving a select group of the most prominent real estate owners and developers in New York City and across the U.S. The Greystone Bassuk Group, a joint venture between The Bassuk Organization and Greystone, a leading national provider of multifamily loans, provides expanded real estate and financial services, including creative debt, EB-5 loans and equity financing solutions.