Briar Capital Real Estate Fund closed a $3.5MM commercial real estate bridge loan for a troubled property located in Phoenix, Arizona. The property, which had been vacant since the onset of COVID-19, sustained fire damage during the vacancy period and was the subject of a foreclosure sale slated to take place in late March 2022.
 
Kaldes Financial, a financing advisor, was retained in early February by the borrower to find financing to take out the existing bank and circumvent the foreclosure sale. In order to succeed, the deal had to close within 45 days or else the owner of the property would lose well over $2.5MM of equity in the property. With time being of the essence, Kaldes reached out to Briar Capital.
 
Briar Capital worked hand-in-hand with Kaldes and together they formulated a creative financing structure which included a $2.2MM draw at closing, a $600M re-construction delayed draw feature, and a commitment size sufficient to capitalize interest throughout the one-year bridge term. Not only did the owner save their property with the refinance but they will now be able to complete the necessary building repairs and return the property to a positive cash flow position.
 
Jeff Appleton, EVP of Briar Capital, remarked “We were very pleased to be brought into the transaction by Kaldes and could not have had a better collaborative experience working with them to solve the specific challenges of this transaction”. Charles Lowry, CRE realtor and spokesman for the property owner, indicated “Kaldes Financial was instrumental in resolving a very difficult situation in an extremely short time frame. Kaldes’ relationships with specialty lenders such as Briar Capital proved to be the secret sauce that made the deal possible.”
 
Kevin Pearce, President of Kaldes Financial said of the experience, “Working with Briar Capital was a profound experience in creative problem-solving. With such a tight deadline and severe repercussions for the property owner had we been unsuccessful, failure was simply not an option for any of us. Briar Capital worked through every challenge efficiently and proactively until the successful conclusion of the deal.”
 
Using a collateral-based approach, Briar Capital provides owner occupied, commercial real estate loans from $1MM to $15MM with LTV's as high as 65%.