Posts by Bison Tales

The Facts of Cap-and-Trade

Thirty-seven industrial countries have committed themselves to reducing greenhouse gases and actively promote the use of carbon offset credits. They have agreed to The Kyoto Protocol which caps the emissions of Green House Gases (GHG) at predetermined levels. If they produce more GHGs they need to acquire carbon offset credits from other third parties. All Read More

SBA Changes the Rules for the Better

SBA has made some sweeping changes to their programs in an effort to stimulate lending to small business owners facing maturing commercial real estate loans and in need of working capital. Please download a free six page guide titled “SBA_New lending initiative” from the box.net widget on this blog or by following this link.

Is Warren Buffet's entry into distressed real estate the sign we have been looking for that it is safe to jump back in the water?

Not really. While there is frothy excitement in social media circles that Warren Buffet’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is mentioned in the same sentence as “distressed real estate” his firm is a special servicer, not a buyer of distressed real estate. One of his holdings, Berkadia, has a portfolio of $240 billion and is Read More

How I Built It: Barry Sternlicht of Starwood Capital

Follow this link to view an inspirational 4-minute interview with Barry Sternlicht, the founder of Starwood Capital, to learn what motivated a then 31-year old unemployed young man to take the leap of faith and start his own business. From humble beginnings his 3-man start-up went on to become the world’s largest owner of hotels. Read More

Bank cleanup delayed: Where are all those fish that were supposed to be in the barrel?

Earlier this year, commercial real estate had all the hallmarks of a distressed asset sale of the millennium. Across America, hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of office buildings, hotels, apartment complexes and malls were tanked up with debt and rapidly tanking in value. They were so far under water, conventional wisdom had it, that Read More

Is Commercial Real Estate a Zombie Filled Black Hole or Double Down Opportunity?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4TqcnID77c] D.C.-area developer Jeff Neal gives the Huffington Post Investigative Fund a tour of empty commercial properties just blocks from the Capitol. He says we were, “drunk on a binge of easy credit and the bartender (the market) took away the bottle (credit).” BLOGGER COMMENT: Private equity groups are looking to double down. They are Read More

CMBS Savior? Developers Diversified Deal Is Nearer

CMBS Savior? Developers Diversified Deal Is Nearer – WSJ.com Posted using ShareThis By LINGLING WEI A closely watched deal that may help uncork the commercial-property debt market is picking up steam after being threatened by some queasiness by the Federal Reserve, according to people familiar with the matter. The Fed is sending signals that its Read More