Arbor Closes $4.2M in Fannie Mae Loans in MA and MI

Dorchester Apartment Complex Receives $2M

Uniondale, NY (Aug. 17, 2009) - Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC (“Arbor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC, announced the recent funding of a $2,000,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS® Small Loan product line for the 24-unit complex known as 12 Bailey Street in Dorchester, MA.

The 5-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.75 percent.

The loan was originated by John Kelly, (top right photo) Vice President, in Arbor’s full-service Boston, MA lending office.

“Arbor was pleased to provide this new client with a refinance through our successful Small Loan program,” said Kelly. “The owner has done an excellent job of managing the property and maintaining an excellent tenant base.”

Amber Properties Obtains $2.2M Student Loan in Lansing/East Lansing, MI

Uniondale, NY (Aug. 17, 2009) – Arbor Commercial Funding, LLC (“Arbor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC, announced the recent funding of a $2,200,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS® Student Loan product line for the 94-unit complex known as Amber Properties in Lansing/East Lansing, MI.

The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 6.44 percent.

The loan was originated by Michael Jehle, Midwest Regional Director, in Arbor’s full-service Bloomfield Hills,MI lending office. “This loan was secured by three separate student properties all owned by the same borrower,” said Jehle. “Through this refinance we were able to dramatically increase the borrower’s cash flow and substantially reduce their interest cost.”

Contact: Ingrid Principe, P: 516.506.4298, F: 516.542.2555, http://www.arbor.com/

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Grubb & Ellis Receives Notice Regarding NYSE Listing

SANTA ANA, CA, Aug. 17, 2009– Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that the company has been notified by the New York Stock Exchange (top left photo, trading floor) that it is not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards.

The company’s business operations, SEC reporting requirements and credit agreements are unaffected by the notification.

Grubb & Ellis is considered below criteria established by the NYSE because the company’s total market capitalization has been less than $50 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period and its last reported stockholders’ equity was less than $50 million.

In accordance with NYSE procedures, Grubb & Ellis has 45 days from the receipt of the notice to submit a plan to the NYSE demonstrating how it intends to bring the company in compliance with the listing standards within the required timeframe. The company intends to cure the deficiencies and to return to compliance with the NYSE continued listing requirements.

On February 20, 2009, prior to the NYSE’s imposition of a moratorium with respect to the minimum average trading price of listed securities, the company was notified that it was not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standard related to maintaining a minimum average closing price of $1 per share over 30 consecutive trading days.

The six-month cure period was suspended until the moratorium was lifted on August 1, 2009, giving the company until January 23, 2010 to come back into compliance with the minimum average closing price per share requirement.

Contacts:

Janice McDill, 312.698.6707, janice.mcdill@grubb-ellis.com

Rich Pehlke, 312.698.6711, rich.pehlke@grubb-ellis.com

Fannie Mae DUS Lender Bulls Capital Partners Appoints Robert Russell as Chief Production Officer

VIENNA, VA Aug. 17, 2009 - -Bulls Capital Partners, LLC, a multifamily financial service provider and Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) lender, announced the appointment of Robert Russell (top right photo) as Senior Vice President and Chief Production Officer.
As Chief Production Officer, Mr. Russell is responsible for sourcing and structuring multifamily loan transactions.

With 14 years of experience in real estate finance, Mr. Russell has executed primarily multifamily and commercial transactions totaling in excess of $6 billion.

These transactions have involved debt placement, equity placement, advisory services and share purchases. Mr. Russell's client base includes some of the largest publicly traded and privately held owners and operators of real estate in the United States.

Prior to joining Bulls Capital Partners, Mr. Russell held a similar position at Arbor Commercial Mortgage. He previously served as Managing Director at Wachovia Securities and Credit Suisse where his responsibilities included developing client relationships, originating loans, underwriting, structuring and closing transactions. Mr. Russell has also held positions at Nomura Asset Capital Corporation, Rosenman & Colin, LLP and LTCB Trust Company.

"Rob's successful track record of providing financial solutions for entrepreneurs and institutions makes him a great addition to our team," said Herman Bulls, (middle left photo) President and CEO of Bulls Capital Partners. "Bulls Capital Partners is committed to ensuring his continued success."

"Bulls Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs offer a platform that is unmatched in the multifamily capital markets," Mr. Russell said. "The combined firms' access to capital, expertise of senior management and reputation for client-focused service delivery makes the joint venture a powerhouse in multi-family finance."

"The addition of Rob Russell to head our Production efforts and his sole focus on Fannie Mae DUS originations will help us expand our reach while continuing to provide premium service to our customers," said Mark Van Kirk, (middle right photo) Bulls Capital Partners Co-Founder and COO.

Bulls Capital Partners is a joint venture of Goldman Sachs Commercial Mortgage Capital and Bulls Multifamily, LLC, a minority-controlled firm headed by President and CEO Herman Bulls.

Bulls previously ran a successful DUS lending operation, and has extensive commercial real estate experience with one of the world's leading real estate service providers.

Co-founding Bulls Capital Partners with Bulls is Mark Van Kirk, Chief Operating Officer. Van Kirk previously served as Director of Counterparty Risk at Fannie Mae.

Bulls Capital Partners, LLC is a Fannie Mae-approved Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) lender that offers a full array of financing solutions to owners of multifamily property.

Bulls Capital Partners' key capabilities under the DUS program include small loan solutions, affordable housing solutions, student housing, market-rate multifamily mortgages, and credit facilities, among other offerings.

Contacts:
Herman Bulls, President & CEO, (202)256-1814, Herman.Bulls@Bullscapitalpartners.com

Mark B. Van Kirk, Co-Founder-COO, (703)283-9700,Mark.Vankirk@Bullscapitalpartners.com

Johnson-Laux Completes Florida Hospital Waterman Project

ORLANDO, FL – Orlando-based general contractor Johnson-Laux Construction completed Florida Hospital Waterman’s newest project: Vista Del Sol Adult & Geriatric Medical Associates’ 2,775 square-foot tenant build-out for the medical practice of Gretchen San Miguel, MD, located at 3330 Waterman Way in Tavares, near Orlando, FL.

Johnson-Laux has completed approximately 20 medical projects at Florida Hospital Waterman since 2005. The Vista Del Sol work totaled approximately $300,000 according to Johnson-Laux President Kevin Johnson, (top right photo) LEED Accredited Professional.

Contact: Kenneth H. Cristol 407-774-2515

Tri-City Electrical Donates Backpacks to Children's Home Society of Central Florida

ORLANDO, FL – Employees of Altamonte Springs-based Tri-City Electrical Contractors, Inc. donated more than 100 fully-supplied school backpacks to Children’s Home Society of Central Florida for children in need in our local community. Supplies included paper, crayons, notebooks, lunchboxes, pens, pencils, pencil boxes, markers, highlighters and more. This year, Tri-City’s employees filled and donated a record-breaking 102 backpacks which is the largest number ever.

Contact: Kenneth H. Cristol 407-774-2515

Fitch: Distressed Asset Sales Offset U.S. CREL CDO Delinquency Drop

NEW YORK CITY, NY, Aug. 17, 2009-- Realized losses continue to rise for U.S. CREL CDOs as delinquencies declined to 7.6% from 8.2% in June, according to the latest CREL CDO Delinquency Index (CREL DI) index results from Fitch Ratings.

On average, 2.7% of the CDO par balance has been lost to date due to distressed asset sales and discounted payoffs. Had the loans, which were resolved at a loss over the past three months (1.5%) remained in the transactions, the CREL DI would have exceeded 9% this month.

‘Though the number of distressed sales to third parties and discounted payoffs for troubled CDO assets is on the rise, many of these losses have been masked as managers often use the proceeds to purchase new assets at an even deeper discount, which builds par’ said Senior Director Karen Trebach. ‘Par building can preserve equity distributions as overcollateralization tests are either cured or maintained.’

Because preferred shares are not written down for CDOs, collateral losses are not always apparent to investors. Fitch determined that 21 of the 35 rated CREL CDOs had realized losses totaling over $600 million, or approximately 2.7% of the fully ramped CDO balances. Individual CDO loss rates range from 0.4% to as high as 20% for one CDO, which had a high percentage of losses attributed to subprime RMBS asset sales.

In the July reporting period, 12 troubled assets were disposed of through either third party sales or discounted payoffs. The average recovery on these loans was approximately 46% resulting in realized losses to five different CREL CDOs totaling $95.3 million.

Over the same one month period, CDO managers reported approximately $97 million of par building from discounted asset purchases.

Although the total dollar amount is similar to the total realized losses for the month, the par building has not necessarily occurred in the same CDOs as the realized losses.

In addition, a couple of issuers purchased assets at par. Currently, a total of 10 of the 35 Fitch rated CREL CDOs are failing at least one OC test.

At least seven additional CDOS are within 1.5% of breaching an OC test. As assets continue to near maturity, the pace of impaired assets in individual CDOs is expected to increase, placing additional pressures on OC ratios. Failure of OC tests leads to the cutoff of interest payments to subordinate classes, including preferred shares, which are typically held by the CDO asset managers.

Faced with limited options, some managers are also managing OC ratios by extending and/or restructuring loans. In the July 2009 reporting period, asset managers reported 48 loan extensions (4.2% of loans), which is nearly double the prior month’s total of 26.

These extensions are reducing the number of matured balloon loans. However, many of these extensions and modifications merely have the effect of postponing inevitable losses.

Fitch anticipates high default rates within CREL CDOs as these loans mature into the trough of the current commercial real estate cycle. As such, Fitch is currently finalizing review methodology and anticipates significant downgrades to all Fitch rated CREL CDOs in the coming months.

Contact:

Karen Trebach +1-212-908-0215 or

Stacey McGovern +1-212-908-0722, New York.

Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0278; sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com