Raleigh real estate executive notes importance of “relationships” to close student housing financial deals
RALEIGH, NC – October 14, 2010 – John Preiss, Executive Vice President of New Business Development for The Preiss Company (TPCO), was featured in the September 16th edition of Multi-Housing News Online. Preiss, a panelist at the NMHC Student Housing Conference & Exposition held on September 15th & 16th at JW Marriott in Washington, DC, provided insight into the student housing market and the importance of relationships in order to close student housing financial deals.
In the special report entitled “Student Housing is the Flavor of the Season” written by MHN Online News Editor Anuradha Kher, Preiss discussed dealing with local banks and the lure of bank-owned properties. “We [The Preiss Company] have some local regional banks with whom we have good relationships. But these are recourse loans, floating two-three-year deals with no prepayment,” said Preiss.
According to Preiss, the “hottest” deals getting done right now are bank-owned properties that are stabilized and located in a good market. “Everyone is trying to get those deals,” said Preiss. “There are 30-40 offers coming in for those properties. There is a very high level of competition for those deals and they end up trading at very low cap rates.”
As Executive VP of New Business Development, Preiss is responsible for growing new business, identifying good debt and equity partners, and overseeing the company’s acquisitions, development, and third-party property management. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC). This year, Preiss was a panelist on the NMHC conference session entitled “Getting the Deal Done: How to Close on a Transaction in the Current Environment”. Participating with Preiss were Will Baker (Vice President Multifamily Finance, Walker & Dunlop) and Kevin R. Larimer (Associate Partner, Hendricks & Partners). The panel moderator was Michael Zaransky (Co-CEO, Prime Property Investors, Ltd.).
Kher wrote that despite the economic downturn, the student housing sector has not been affected “too badly” during the recession and has been sustained by agency financing. Kher added that although the session panelists talked about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—since these two lenders continue to show a strong interest in providing loans to student housing properties—there are other factors to be concerned about. One factor is the emergence of private equity sources.
“There is plenty of equity in the form of not just private equity but also new funds, private investors and family money,” added Preiss. Kher ended the article by writing that regardless of the operator, if they’re strong and have the funds, they will be the ones buying student housing properties in the next few months. “Student housing is the flavor of the season,” Preiss concluded.
Multi-Housing News provides the leaders of the multi-housing industry with the most current and complete news, information. and analysis in print and online to help them run their businesses more efficiently and profitably. To read the article in its entirety, visit http://www.multihousingnews.com/featured-content/special-report-student-housing-is-the-flavor-of-the-season-6/.
About The Preiss Company
Founded in 1987 by Donna Preiss, TPCO is one of the largest off-campus student housing providers in the nation and employs over 250 team members. TPCO is the leader in the development of new technologies, tools, and strategies for the student housing industry and acts as a receiver for several national banks. In its 23rd year, the company has formed over 50 partnerships and developed over 20 projects stretching from Maryland to Texas. For more information, visit www.tpco.com.
