News & Deals

ENCINITAS, CA (December 9, 2016) -  Today the City of Encinitas approved Helvetica's project to build 5 new luxury ocean view homes in beautiful Cardiff by the Sea.   It was a long process, but the collaborative effort with the City of Encinitas resulted in a much better project overall.   The homes to be built on the corner of Chesterfield and Glasgow will consist of approximately 12,400 total square feet of living space and include 2 twin homes and one single family residence. All of the homes will have covered patios, entertainment space, roof top decks and expansive white water views.  These homes are an entertainer's and beach lover's dream.  

HOLLYWOOD, CA - In 2008, Helvetica provided a $3.5 million loan to refinance the iconic home in Los Angeles known as Castillo Del Lago: a house with a sorted history, celebrity ownership, mafia affiliation, ghost hauntings and murder intrigue.  The home built in 1926, was once owned by Bugsy Siegel, purchased for $20,000 in 1930  and used for illegal gambling prior to Bugsy moving to Las Vegas to build the famous Flamingo hotel.  

SANTA ROSA, CA (June 30, 2016) - Helvetica financed a repeat borrower requesting a bridge loan to facilitate a reverse 1031 exchange.  Loan required a quick closing with liimited documentation and no debt service coverage. The borrower was in escrow to sell a multifamily property in Santa Rosa, CA, but needed to quickly close on the purchase of another property which qualified for their 1031 reverse exchange property. Helvetica's $2.7M bridge loan provided the borrower with enough equity to close on their upleg exchange property. The borrower intended to payoff the loan shortly after close with the sale of the property in escrow. Helvetica was able to provide a loan without a prepayment penalty and with a small minimum interest and yield maintenance. 

SANTA MONICA, CA (July 20, 2015) - Helvetica provided a $305,000 refinance loan on a 5-unit multifamily property in Santa Monica, CA.   The borrower had an existing loan on the property with an upcoming maturity date. The property was 100% occupied and had good cash flow. Despite the fact that the property was stabilized, and located in a highly desirable area, the borrower was unable to obtain conventional bank financing due to some temporary credit challenges. Helvetica acted quickly to refinance the borrower helping them to avoid a late fee on their looming balloon payment.  The borrower will be able to utilize Helvetica's bridge loan while they clean up some credit issues and look for permanent bank financing.  The borrower may also be able to take advantage of Helvetica's bridge to perm program.  

HENDERSON, NV (June 20, 2015) - Helvetica funded a quick bridge loan to enable the borrower to purchase an unstabilized, non-performing self-storage facility in Henderson, NV.  The property provided no debt coverage and the borrower was unable to satisfy guidelines of a bank or traditional lender.  

 The Story

Helvetica was approached by a national commercial real estate brokerage firm in search of a bridge loan for one of their clients. The borrower was purchasing a self-storage facility in Henderson, Nevada and required a quick closing. The property had been severely mismanaged, was unstabilized and under performing.  There was insuffficient debt coverage to meet the requirements of tradional bank guidelines.  The borrower had a definitive plan to make improvements to the property and stabilize the asset. The borrower executed a similar plan on a comparable property in the same market, so Helvetica was confident they could repeat that success. Through great coordination with the brokerage firm, Helvetica was able to quickly provide the borrower with an 18 month bridge loan. With Helvetica’s loan, the borrower was able to purchase the property with a term that provided sufficient time to make property improvements and stabilize the asset.  

Alternative real estate investing is an elusive asset class. Identifying, originating and underwriting real estate investments takes time and experience.

Direct Investing in Alternative Real Estate Assets

Traditional brokers and financial advisors rarely direct their clients to these types of assets primarily because their firm cannot custody the investments and as a result, they lose the capital and cannot charge fees on the assets.  It’s unfortunate, but true.  Some advisors, in an attempt at altruism will direct their clients to such investments in a holistic attempt to balance out a portfolio.  Our experience has proven that alternative real estate investments should be a significant part of any balance portfolio. 

CARLSBAD, CA (September 30, 2014) - Helvetica provided purchase financing in 5 days for a fix and flip project in Carlsbad, California.  The sponsors were waiting on a short sale approval lasting over 9 months. Once the sale was approved the sponsor needed to act quickly in order to close on the property. Helvetica was able to provide funding for the project within 5 days of the initial request enabling the sponsors to capitalize on a unique investment opportunity.  In less than 4 months, the sponsors were able to improve and sell the property capturing a profit that exceeded $300,000.  

Helvetica offers fix & flip loans for rehab projects in coastal areas of Southern California and has financed over 500 residential rehab properties valued at over $100 million since 2010.  Experienced borrowers with a good track record will obtain quicker financing and more attractive rates starting at 7.99%! 

TUCSON, AZ (April 20, 2016) -  A repeat borrower approached Helvetica and requested a bridge loan to pay off a maturing CMBS loan on their multi-tenant light industrial building in Tucson, AZ. 

The property had high historical occupancy, until a tenant occupying 51% of the building vacated after 21 years.  Due to the recent high vacancy, the borrower was unable to obtain conventional bank financing. Helvetica was able to step in and provide a $1,450,000 bridge loan to pay off the borrower’s maturing loan. The borrower intends on utilizing Helvetica’s bridge loan to stabilize the property and lease up the remaining vacant space. Helvetica is confident in the borrower's ability to stabilize the property and refinance into more permanent financing. The borrower had been a loyal client and repeat borrower on several other properties. 

If you are a commercial loan broker or a mortgage broker considering small balance commercial loans, a critical success factor when serving your clients, is certainty in your loan closing.  The ability to provide a reliable quote and a timely closing, should be the primary focus of every loan process.  However, several things get in the way of "certainty."  

These 10 easy tips will move your loan quickly through underwriting and make you a superhero in the eyes of your borrower and lender.