Articles Posted in Real Estate Investment

Investors are still watching which way the market is ready to turn after yesterday’s 600-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial average, the biggest one-day drop in over two months. While world markets appeared to be reacting to the prospect of loan defaults by the Evergrande Group – China’s second largest real estate company and the world’s largest property developer –retail investors, and retirees in particular, should keep in mind that this might be the beginning of something bigger. Given that U.S. equities remain at historic highs, portfolios still have a long way to fall.  It is still unclear what ripple effect Evergrande will have even within China, as the Chinese government has yet to formally decide on whether it will bail out Evergrande or let it fail.  But both scenarios are fueling fears of contagion within the U.S. and world markets. Some are calling this China’s “Lehman’s moment,” despite Evergrande’s debt only being about roughly half of the $600 billion in liabilities that Lehman had when it defaulted.  There are rumblings, however, that Evergrande is the canary in the coal mine for China’s numerous other property companies, representing an outsized portion in driving China’s economy and GDP.  The net effect on retail investors in the U.S., thus, depends to some degree on the level of Chinese investment and debt holdings by U.S. companies and financial institutions.

HSBC, BlackRock, and J.P. Morgan have been said to have significant exposure to the Chinese market generally, as do many individual U.S. companies, ranging from Wynn Resorts to Apple.  As always, retail investors who are overconcentrated in any single company or market sector face the biggest risk.  While the stock of many of these companies might seem relatively “safe” over the long term, not every investor can wait for the stock market to rebound.  Seniors and retirees are a prime example, as this is a group regularly identified by U.S. regulators (e.g., FINRA and the SEC) as being vulnerable because they are typically saddled with higher expenses (e.g., medical and age-related expenses) at a time when they need liquidity and are no longer working or earning an income. For this reason, stockbrokers and financial advisors have a legal duty to retirees to recommend investments and an investment strategy that is suitable for this stage of life and the possibility that the stock market will not just continue to rise in perpetuity.

For retirees, overconcentration of an investment portfolio is often the culprit of an investment strategy or recommendation gone wrong.  As we have written in this space before, brokers and financial advisors have long been required to have a reasonable basis for recommending an investment or strategy.  And as of June 30, 2020, brokerage firms have had to comply with a new SEC rule, Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), which further requires every recommendation to be in a customer’s best interests.  Overconcentrating a retiree’s investment portfolio in largely equities (or worse, a single equity) is typically not in a retiree’s best interests and is what makes a portfolio most vulnerable to significant market events like Evergrande. Even though regulators do their best to raise the public’s awareness of this fact, retail enthusiasm during a bull market often drowns out the well-worn refrain to not put all your eggs in one basket.  FINRA’s “Concentrate on Concentration Risk” publication is just one such warning.

Recently, CNBC interviewed Jenice Malecki for their white collar crime series, “American Greed”. The episode tonight (Feb 13, 2017), by CNBC correspondent Scott Cohn, is focused on John Bravata, who ran a real estate Ponzi Scheme from 2006 to 2009, through his company BBC Equities LLC. He collected more than $50 million from investors, promising their money would be used to purchase real estate. However, most of it went into financing his lavish lifestyle. Being an experienced securities fraud lawyer and having handled high-profile real estate scams, Ms. Malecki was asked to share her expertise on-camera about real estate investment scams and what to watch out for.

In the video, Ms. Malecki cautions investors about typical real estate scams, who they target, the telltale signs of fraud and resources available for investor protection. This interview has already aired on CNBC and in over 27 NBC affiliated channels. It can also be viewed on http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/10/the-greed-report-tempted-by-the-real-estate-market-investor-beware.html

According to a recent InvestmentNews article, Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. began selling an investment known as a Nontraded Preferred Share after 2011.  The article detailed that the investment is redeemable back to Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. after five years, and if the investor needs to redeem it before five years, they must pay a redemption fee that decreases over time.  If the investor seeks to redeem during the first year, the redemption fee is 13%, according to the article.

Nontraded REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) have long been an area of concern for securities regulators like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) because they are generally illiquid investments that pay high upfront commissions to the brokers who sell them.

Nontraded REITs pose suitability concerns for investors.  Brokers who recommend them must make sure the investors are not over-concentrated in the investment, and that they have disclosed all of the risks associated with them, including the investment’s illiquid nature and the high fees earned, leading to questions of whether the investment is in the best interest of the investor.

LPL Financial LLC has been hit again for supervisory failures stemming from the recommendation of non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), as well as other illiquid investments, begging the question whether the fines are large enough to deter future bad conduct. According to a news release dated March 24, 2014, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that LPL Financial has been fined $950,000 for the firm’s failures in supervision over alternative investments, including non-traded REITs, oil and gas partnerships, business development companies, hedge funds, managed futures and other illiquid pass-through investments.

LPL Financial submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent No. 2011027170901 (AWC), in which it admitted to “fail[ing] to have a reasonable supervisory system and procedures to identify and determine whether purchases of [alternative investments] caused a customer’s account to be unsuitably concentrated in Alternative Investments in contravention of LPL, prospectus or certain state suitability standards.” LPL also admitted in the AWC that though it had a computer system to assist and supervision, this computer system did not consistently identify alternative investments that fell outside of the firm’s suitability guidelines. Additionally, LPL stated that its written compliance and written supervisory procedures failed to achieve compliance with NASD Rule 2310 and state suitability standards.

NASD Rule 2310 has since been superseded by FINRA Rule 2111. The current rule establishes the industry standard that FINRA members and their employees must have a reasonable basis to believe their recommendations are suitable for their customers. The Rule further dictates that the firm must establish suitability for each customer by considering the customer’s age, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment objectives, investment experience, investment time horizon, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and any other information, though this list is not exclusive.

As reported recently by the Wall Street Journal, investment in non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) is at an all-time high and poised to continue to rise. Some estimates anticipate more than $18 billion to be invested in non-traded REITs by the end of this year.

Solicited with the prospect of annual yields of more than 6%, income-seeking investors have had their hard-earned savings steered into non-traded REITs, oftentimes without a complete disclosure of the risks involved. Many brokers and financial advisors pitch REIT investments to their retirement and near-retirement aged customers, emphasizing the perceived “safety” of real estate investment coupled with the higher than normal annual yield, but do not fully explain the associated risks and bloated commissions (as high as 15% in some cases).

What many investors are not told is that because these investments are not publically traded, while the REIT itself may report to them a specific value for their shares, the actual value of their investment may not be readily available – and could even be 10-20% lower if sold on secondary markets. This discount is often caused by the illiquidity of the investment. In other words, sellers are forced to sell for less than what they paid in order to get out of the investment (also called liquidating the investment).

As recently reported by InvestmentNews, the estimated value of common stock in real estate investment trust (or REIT) of Wells Timberland REIT, Inc. fell to $6.56 per share. Given the illiquidity of the trust, finding that price in the market may prove difficult. That figure marks a 35% plunge in value since the REIT premiered in 2006 at $10 per share. Unfortunately, such incidents are all too common in a post-bubble real estate industry continuing to face adversity. Many of these incidents have caused substantial losses to investors who invested some or all of their savings in these ventures at the recommendation of their financial advisor.

The trust in question is controlled by Wells Real Estate Funds, an industry giant which has over $11 billion invested in real estate worldwide. Wells management has committed $37 million in preferred equity to this REIT alone, yet the trust currently appears to accrue annual dividends of a mere 1%. In October of 2011, redemption of trust shares was suspended until a new share value could be determined. Beginning next month, shareholders are apparently supposed to have the option of redemption, which will garner 95% of each share’s estimated value, or $6.23.

REITs in many instances can be considered to be high-risk endeavors: appealing for their potential for high gains due to their interest rates, but with equal if not unwarranted potential for resolute failure, and a possible lack of accountability toward investors. Too often, financials advisors describe high-risk investment products like REITs as safe, secured or guaranteed, typically to get the higher commission that these riskier investments pay. Misrepresenting the risk of an investment to a customer like that is against the law and rules under which these professionals work.

Malecki Law is investigating possible unsuitability claims against stock brokers and financial advisors who sold shares of KBS REIT I to investors. REITs are illiquid real estate investments, which may be unsuitable for both unsophisticated and elderly customers.

Just recently, KBS informed investors that it would be dropping its share price a whopping 29% from $7.32 to $5.16. This represents a nearly 50% drop from its original sale price of $10. For investors who bought shares of KBS REIT I as part of their retirement savings, this drop may be too much to handle.

In addition to the drop in share price, KBS has also informed investors that it will cease payment of its dividend. Since, many financial advisors sell REITs like KBS REIT I to retired customers as a way to obtain steady income, this announcement has to potential to be devastating to a retiree depending on that income.

The state of today’s real estate market can differ from neighborhood to neighborhood, let alone market to market. Whether negotiating a commercial real estate transaction in New York, or making a real estate investment, knowing the market and having a New York real estate law firm with the experience to protect your rights can be critical to the long-term financial well-being of any endeavor.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, the college towns of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Denton, Texas would appear to have little in common. Yet both have seen substantial recovery in the real estate market. Using information available through the real estate site Zillow, The Journal determined 25 communities have rebounded nearly to pre-recession levels. However, none of these locations experienced the huge run-ups common in Florida, Nevada and California.Some common indicators are the strength of the employment and rental markets. The healthier communities also have fewer foreclosures flooding the market. New York real estate investment attorneys continue to see terrific opportunity in the market. However, the many competing factors make it more complex than ever; consulting an experienced law firm can help ensure you avoid many of the pitfalls inherent in today’s real estate market.

In other markets, The Journal reports housing prices are not likely to see substantial recovery until 2014.

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