The proceeds of this offering will be slated for what the company terms “general purposes” including a variety of intended investments. Accordingly, real estate securities, real estate related loans, consumer loans, residential loans, corporate loans, senior living assets, excess mortgage servicing rights and operating real estate, are among the areas in which Newcastle intends expanding.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and BofA Merrill Lynch will manage the offering. Copies of the prospectus and prospectus supplement may be obtained from: Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC by phoning: (800) 221-1037, or via Email: newyork.prospectus@credit-suisse.com; or BofA Merrill Lynch at: Email: dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com

About the company: Newcastle Investment Corp. invests, manages, and speculates in real estate assets, primarily residential servicing and securities, and commercial real estate debt.

Readers may wish to view the original press here at Businesswire. 

The essential sort term stay, Value Place

According to their news, the influx of capital further enables Value Place for accelerated growth. Accordingly  the follow on investments will go toward adding no less than 50 new company locations.

The Value Place executive team finalized this deal back in December of 2012. Going forward, the existing top executive leadership of Founder Jack DeBoer will continue as the firm expands. Weber offered this statement on the deal:

“Our relationship with Lindsay Goldberg is an important part of our growth strategy. Lindsay Goldberg has a reputation for making long-term investments in companies with extraordinary potential for growth and financial performance. Their endorsement of Value Place sends a strong message about the potential for Short-Term Residential Property development and is further validation of the company’s highly efficient operating model, Brand and value proposition.”

Meanwhile, Value Place celebrates the opening of their 181st unit located in Odessa, TX. Other new locations at College Station, TX, Dickinson, ND and Manassas, VA are slated to open later in 2013.

For more information about this transaction, please visit the original press release or the prescribed links above.

NORTHWEST INTERNATIONAL HEALTHC (MOB-UN.V) – courtesy Yahoo! Finance

The REIT and a syndicate of underwriters led by GMP Securities L.P. and National Bank Financial Inc. and including Scotia Capital Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., Desjardins Securities Inc. and Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. exercised their rights to purchase these shares. According to the limited news release, the over-allotment proceeds of this deal are to be leveraged to further the REIT’s international healthcare real estate strategy and possibilities for future acquisitions.

The REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust in Ontario which includes investments via Vital Healthcare Property Trust (NZX: VHP). It also has interests in a portfolio of some 32 properties comprised of 1.8 million square feet of income producing property in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and in Germany.

For more information on this news please visit the prescribed links, or contact:

Paul Dalla Lana
CEO, NorthWest International Healthcare Properties REIT
(416) 366-8300 ext. 1001

Image by thinkpanama via flickr.com

The title company acts as an independent third party to the transaction.  They have no vested interest in either the buyer or the seller and therefore work objectively, similar to a judge in a courtroom.  However in reality this is not always the case.

A title company works like other businesses that depend on referrals to generate income.  The title company’s clients consist of mortgage lenders, realtors and property investors.  These people send the title company their deals on a regular basis.  They also expect the title company to make sure their deals close so everyone makes money.  If the title company can’t close these deals then they will send them somewhere else.  This gives the title company a vested interest in making sure the closings from their regular clients go smoothly, even if it means stretching a few rules.

Real estate title law is governed by statutes passed by that State’s legislature and Departments of Insurance or Professional Regulation.  However, a title company has some leeway in how they interpret those laws and regulations.  Everything is not always black and white.  For example some title companies will ignore a lien against a property if it is more than ten years old while others will insist it be satisfied.  Some title companies will hold money in escrow if something can’t be cleared up on title before closing and others will not.  The determining factor in these decisions is normally what will make the title companies client happy.

Title companies will cut corners and rush a deal to closing if their client is threatening to pull all their business from them if they don’t.  They will take added risks which could cost you time, money and aggravation in the future.  Let’s say the title company finds a lien against the property and does not hold enough money in escrow to satisfy it fully then that lien will stay on your title.  Even though you have title insurance that does not make it instantly go away and clean up the cloud on your title.   You still have claims to file against the original title companies underwriter and might need to hire an attorney.  Also if you are selling the property and this lien comes up then you may lose your potential buyer.  They may not want to wait around until you get things straightened out and decide to purchase something else.

If you are involved in a real estate transaction you always want to use your own title company whenever possible.  If the contract states that a party other than yourself has the right to choose the title company than you can still hire your own, it just means you will have to pay for their services in addition to what the other company will charge.  This fee is well worth it.

Your own title company will tell you if a lien on title can be covered by escrow funds and how much should be held.  Or they will tell you the lien must be paid off or satisfied before you close.  They will also tell you if the other parties company is charging you too much money for their services.  Many times a title company will have an agreement in place with their client’s wherein they pass many of their fees onto the other side of the transaction and charge their client’s nothing.  If this is happening on your closing then you can dispute the amounts you are being charged.  The savings from this alone can offset the cost of hiring your own title company to protect you.

Title searches are not always perfect.  I am surprised at how often title companies miss things when they search for liens.  Your own title company may find liens on title the other company missed.  Having two independent searches done will benefit you.

Hiring your own title company gives you piece of mind.  You know they have no one’s interest before yours.  They will make sure any gray areas in handling the closing are done in your favor.  Think of it as hiring your own attorney.  You would not want to use another person’s attorney to represent you in the same matter.  It would be a conflict of interest.  Hiring your own title company protects you the same way hiring your own lawyer protects you.

Daniel Doran is a 20+ year veteran in the real estate industry. He is a previous owner of a law firm, mortgage and title company. Daniel has also written several books on mortgage modification, short sales and real estate investing. He currently specializes in Commercial Finance and Real Estate Development and is a graduate of Manhattanville College and Brooklyn Law School. You can contact Dan at Buildings By Owner.

More than twenty years expertise in institutional real estate investment make Herubin the ideal candidate to join Cornerstone Portfolio Manager Denise Stake. The Patriot Fund’s core investment strategy relies on so called “barrier markets” which provide higher appreciation rates and growth potential for investors. Thomas Dudeck, Cornerstone’s Chief of Investment Strategy, offered this about the selection:

“We’re extremely excited to be able to add a professional of Terri’s experience and accomplishments. We believe that Terri’s strong background in portfolio management and acquisitions, combined with Denise’s significant experience with the Patriot Fund and the execution of its strategy, will be a significant benefit to Patriot Fund investors.”

Formerly the Principal Portfolio Manager at The Townsend Group, Herubin was also key manager in previous years for the New York State Teacher’s Retirement System. Herubin has a B.A. in urban planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she later graduated magna cum laude from Brooklyn Law School.  She is licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.

For those unfamiliar with Cornerstone, the company has affiliates and subsidiaries in the U.S., UK, Europe and Asia, and is one of the world’s most trusted and largest real estate investment advising firms. Cornerstone is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group. For more info on the company, please visit www.cornerstoneadvisers.com.

The growth of investment - watch LaSalle

LaSalle invests solely in real estate, delivering performance at an unprecedented level not found in general investment firms.  An independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle, LaSalle Investment Management is committed to ethics, diversity and integrity.

Recently, LaSalle partnered with Curtis Real Estate (CRE) to acquire prime real estate at an industrial site on White Hart Lane in Tottenham, a district of North London.  When the plan is approved, the seven acre site will be one of the first major industrial space developments in Greater London in many years.  CRE will develop the 143,000 square feet into seven units, varying in size from 10,000 to 52,000 square feet.

“A lack of development in the industrial sector in recent years means that there is a shortage of new space so now is the right time in the property cycle to acquire well located land for future development,” said Chris Fry, Director of LaSalle Investment Management.

LaSalle European market study - courtesy LaSalle website PDF download

LaSalle is comitted to building lasting relationships with clients and industry partners.  Their services include: separate accounts (managed and segregated portfolios), commingled funds (pooled investment products), and public securities.  LaSalle has 24 offices in several North American cities, Europe, and Asia.  For more information about LaSalle Investment Management, visit www.lasalle.com.