Cranewoods Development interviewed for TV program about Florida Gopher Tortoises is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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 Cranewoods Development is entering their second redevelopment project in Cincinnati Ohio with the purchase of the remaining Schoolhouse Lofts.  Now in the process of finishing the luxury urban condo project, the Mcarland Lofts, in the West Fourth Street Historical District within the business district of Downtown Cincinnati, Cranewoods is engaging another historically oriented project in East Walnut Hills.  The remaining Schoolhouse Lofts units had languished in the challenged real estate market.  Cranewoods has taken on the role as the Redevelopment Manager of the former schoolhouse.

Andrew Howe of Cranewoods saw the beautiful old Walnut Hills High School and decided his expertise in historical building redevelopment and luxury housing gave him insights on how to provide contemporary (if not urban hip) design to the unique building with multiple turrets and Romanesque Revival design.

 “I like the challenge of historical buildings,” says Howe, “but I also liked the central location near downtown Cincinnati, the hospitals and Clifton. The neighborhood is highly walkable, and I felt I could bring value and an upgraded design to new buyers at the Schoolhouse Lofts.”

Cranewoods will provide new layouts and new design to the remaining five units.  The project will now include optional layouts for a second bedroom or an expanded great room, bamboo floors, cutting edge designed bathroom vanities and fixtures, and designer lighting along with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.  The revisions will also now include optional private garages in the gated parking lot.

 The neighborhood of East Walnut Hills has grown from its “urban pioneer” days to be voted one of Cincinnati’s Top Ten neighborhoods.

 One of the more unique aspects of the project is the financing structure Cranewoods arranged by teaming with the Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF).  CDF will provide a no interest/ no payment second mortgageto qualified buyers for 10% of the purchase price.

Cranewoods began providing real estate development consulting in Cincinnati in 2010 and the Schoolhouse Lofts is their second redevelopment project in the city.

For more information on the Schoolhouse Lofts visit http://www.schoolhouselofts.net

Cranewoods Purchases Remaining Schoolhouse Lofts in Cincinnati, Ohio is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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1. The Schoolhouse Lofts – Cincinnati Ohio Denise Guiducci | Coldwell Banker | dguiducci@fuse.net | (513) 703-2353...

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McFarland Lofts – Walkable Living in the Downtown Cincinnati West 4th Street Historic District is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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Murray Howe’s Vintage 1909 Photographs of Moscow is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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But do you know whether your home is rated as a “Walkers Paradise” or “Car Dependent”? Do you know how each of those ratings increases or decreases your home value?

Walk Score rates locations based on how walkable they are. They take into consideration walking distance from a specific address to services, art galleries and museums, clubs and nightspots, shopping, restaurants and delis, everything you need to live without a car.

So, What’s your Walk Score?

To take advantage of the information about a location’s walkability, just enter a street address on the Walk Score website. The site will populate a map of venues within walking distance on a map, and rate the walkability of the location. The Walk Score ratings are:

90-100 Walker’s Paradise – Daily errands do not require a car.

70-89 Very Walkable – Most errands can be accomplished on foot.

50-69 Somewhat Walkable – Some amenities within walking distance.

25-49 Car-Dependent – A few amenities within walking distance.

0-48 Car-Dependent – Almost all errands require a car.

According to Walk Score, the following characteristics make a community walkable:

•Walkable neighborhoods have a discernible center, whether it”s a shopping district, a main street, or a public space
•The neighborhood is compact enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to run frequently
•Housing is provided for everyone who works in the neighborhood: young and old, singles and families, rich and poor
•Businesses and residences are located near each other
•There are plenty of parks and public spaces
•Schools and workplaces are close enough that most residents can walk from their homes

Pedestrian friendly communities are good investments. They benefit residents, local businesses and investors alike. Real estate experts believe that as communities become more walkable and livable, they simultaneously become more prosperous.

The financial impact of a higher Walk Score on property values can be substantial. According to a 2009 report by CEOs For Cities on “How Walkability Raises Home Prices in US Cities”, one point of Walk Score can raise the value of a home by as much as $5,260.

Walkability and Walk Score should become part of your home buying vocabulary.

How a Walk Score Rating Increases Real Estate Values is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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Furnishing the model at The McFarland Lofts in the Downtown Cincinnati West Fourth Street Historic District.

Prices start at $199,000 and include garage parking, private balconies and conditioned storage.

Furnishing A Historic Loft Interior Video is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) November 16, 2010

In the November 3rd edition of the Engineering News Record (ENR), the leading news weekly to the construction industry, Andrew Howe, president of Cranewoods Development was spotlighted for his success at “fixing” distressed real estate projects and loans in the tumultuous real estate market.

The article, titled “Consensus Is Reached: Nowhere To Go but Up”, points out that Cranewoods “rolled with the punches” by realizing that with fewer new projects on the horizon, their expertise in construction and real estate development financing was in demand by troubled investors, lenders and borrowers with projects that had stalled or gone into foreclosure. Cranewoods began consulting long before the world’s economic troubles, but their unique knowledge is now being requested more than ever, as so many projects and loans fall prey to the changing economic conditions. Distressed asset management has become a key component of their business.

When asked how he adapted to the market, the article quotes Howe, “Having both construction and development experience is what kept us in the game”. Stalled projects, usually with less money and a smaller market available, present real challenges to bankers and developers alike. “Taking over half-finished projects is a specialized field,” Howe said. “Since the time when those projects were initiated, the markets had changed, which required we make design changes. We’re now in the business of fixing broken projects.”

Howe’s expertise in defaulted loans, bank owned projects (Bank REO for “Real Estate Owned”) and stalled project solutions has led his company to add a range of consulting services to bank special assets departments (SAD), troubled developers and underwater equity groups. He is typically brought in to projects that have a mix of financial and construction issues, often involving unfinished construction, lawsuits and liens.

Howe’s decades of experience building and developing his own high-rise projects gave him the problem-solving platform to work out complex issues on stalled projects. In 2006 when the real estate market came to a crashing end in Florida, where he had six projects in mid-construction, Howe had to get a crash course in fixing distressed projects and engaging in win-win bank workouts to reach a mutually successful conclusion to troubled loans and projects. His experience in that volcanic real estate market has given him a wealth of experience that his clients and projects now benefit from.

As ENR points out, “The strategy that worked was ‘putting together a plan where everyone loses something, but no one loses everything.’”

Cranewoods primarily offers their services to the Southeast and Midwest with current projects in Cincinnati, Ohio and Jacksonville, Florida.

About Cranewoods Development:
Andrew Howe, President of Cranewoods Development, is an award winning developer and real estate consultant with over 35 years experience. Cranewoods offers full service real estate consulting to lenders and investors. Services include: development consulting, bank loan workout solutions, court appointed receiver, turn-key development management, construction management and general project problem solving. To explore Cranewoods further, visit: http://cranewoods.com or follow them on Facebook at http://Facebook.com/CranewoodsDevelopment.

ENR Magazine Interviews Distressed Real Estate Project “Fixer” is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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Take as a for instance: A third year NFL player who’s had a few stand out years nearing a new contract, and is expecting a salary jump equal to his impact. He’s confident in his game, he’s also now confident mixing with businessmen, owners and managers. Opportunities come his way regularly and more are expected with the new contract. He’ll see options for real estate investment with varying degrees of risk. Friendships and emotion may come into play in his decisions. After all the loan risks have even been spelled out to him, he’s confident – and no one gets into an investment expecting failure. But if the deal goes into default and he hasn’t protected himself, he could lose a whole lot more than his initial investment. Confidence in his game came from years of practice and hard work but bringing that confidence to investing without preparation could affect him for years to come.

I’m often called for help with defaulted loan negotiations by high net worth clients who have made investments involving a personal loan guarantee that has them in a perilous financial situation. Often their problem could have been avoided altogether through basic investment analysis combined with prudent asset protection planning.

Sometimes they don’t even know the difference between a straight cash investment, where their risk involves their original investment capital only vs an “at risk” investment, which involves the investor becoming liable for the entire project’s debt by signing on as the guarantor of a bank loan to the project.

The typical example is investing in a real estate deal either with pure cash, called an “equity” investment, by putting up cash for say 20% of the deal vs an equity and “risk” investor by putting up cash and taking the additional risk of signing a bank loan to finance the deal for say 40% of the deal. Is the additional return worth the risk portion of the investment? It’s hard to say without a detailed analysis of the specific project, however the investor is many times too consumed with the potential returns to spend the proper due diligence on ways the deal going south could impact them in a negative way – beyond any cash invested. Even a small project can involve loans in the millions of dollars, and if the project fails, the banks will be looking for the guarantors to pay off the entire loan. In a financial analysis the additional risk might seem worth it, but if there are multiple loan guarantors and only one of them has available assets that are not protected, that guarantor could be faced with the liability of the entire loan amount – which can be a pretty daunting prospect.

When I’m asked about the quality of a potential investment, especially when the investment involves direct ownership of a business or real estate, my first question is always “are you signing any bank loans personally?” And, if they are, “have you protected your personal assets?” All too often, especially in this economic climate, the investment later hits a wall, fails to perform as hoped, and the debt is looming as a catastrophic liability to the investor who signed on as a guarantor of the loan. In many cases the investor did not receive enough of an increase in potential profits to in any way justify the risk of signing for the loan. In other words they would have been far better off to be a passive investor, contributing and risking only cash, rather than risking a loan being called and the bank reaching into their personal assets, including cash, stocks, cars or homes.

Does that mean an investor should never sign a loan guarantee? The additional risk can be very lucrative, but the answer depends on the investor, the investment, the financial strength of any other guarantors and the level of the investor’s personal asset protection. If the returns justify the risk and the guarantor has prudently taken asset protection steps, then the right deal may justify the additional risk. The decision should be based on a clinical look at the facts, including a realistic analysis of what could cause the deal to fail, and what the personal asset ramifications are in case of a failure, not solely on how much confidence the investor has in the deal.

The goal is to win the game without the alternative costing you an arm and a leg.

Loan Guarantee Risk Assessment for Professional Athletes is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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RE/MAX CityWide has announced the complete sellout of Le Brittany Condominiums at 9^th and Race in Cincinnati’s central business district. The 18 unit project has a mix of 2 bedroom 1.5 bath units and 1 bedroom 1.5 bath units, with selling prices between 179k and 240k. The project was originally an apartment building which was fully converted to condominiums.

Guiducci was recently selected by Cranewoods Development to list the McFArland Lofts project in the downtown Cincinnati West Fourth Street historic district.

“The McFarland Lofts is an exciting project for us. It has the advantage of being in the price-point ‘sweet spot’, and combines great location with inside garage parking, private balconies and 2 bedroom 2 bath contemporary floor plans”.

 “With all units in the McAlpin, Le Brittany, 18 E. Fourth, Park Place, American Building and Fountain Square Lofts selling out in this price range, we are extremely low on inventory and look forward to a strong demand for these historic condominiums”. 

The McFarland Loft’s 8 units also benefit from the 10 year City of Cincinnati real estate tax abatement project, intended to provide a significant financial incentive for homebuyers in the urban core.

Denise Guiducci is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX CityWide, a downtown Cincinnati real estate company with expertise in the condominium and loft market. To find out more about her current downtown Cincinnati West Fourth historic district project, the McFarland Lofts, visit http://downtowncincinnatilofts.com or see all of her listings at http://www.remax-citywide.com

RE/MAX CityWide 513-7032353

Downtown Cincinnati condo project announces sellout is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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November 8^th 2010 – St Augustine, FL   Bank and Real Estate development consultant Cranewoods Development announces that it has managed the final property closing of a planned multi-phase waterfront community in St Augustine Florida consisting of a future multi and single-family development that included a 3500sf West Indies style luxury home.

The St Augustine market had been hit particularly hard by the real estate downturn, ultimately creating intriguing opportunities for investors and homebuyers willing to step in and buy while prices are depressed.

“Properties are selling and inventory is being absorbed. Those are the indicators that prices are recovering. Now it’s a question of how fast,” stated Andrew Howe, President of Cranewoods Development. “This project had terrific value just sitting there, our job was to let people know about it in a way they understood.”

Cranewoods, a real estate development and consulting firm with offices in Florida and Ohio, has been assisting banks with distressed asset liquidation throughout the economic downturn. Several of the projects, including this one, were managed by Cranewoods prior to the financial crisis. Their expertise in the regional development market made them a logical choice to assist the original lenders in finding the best solution for their St Augustine properties through sales.

Cranewoods transformation from a real estate development firm to one offering financial, construction and real estate development consulting services is one of the success stories to come out of the financial crisis. Cranewoods has always provided consulting services but the economic downturn demanded more of their financial and market analysis experience than ever before.

“We’re brought in to review everything from the original financing to the original design and then asked to reimagine, essentially redevelop, an existing property in a way that minimizes risk and maximizes the asset,” said Howe. Cranewoods has assisted banks with troubled asset sales, management, and mortgage purchases. In addition to assisting others, they have found their own opportunities in the current market. Among Cranewoods’ more high profile recent projects is the McFarland Lofts, a condominium project in the Cincinnati Ohio’s West Fourth Street Historic District.

***

About Cranewoods Development:                                                                                    

Andrew Howe, President of Cranewoods Development, is an award winning developer and real estate consultant with over 35 years of experience. Cranewoods offers full service real estate consulting to lenders and investors. Services include: development consulting, bank loan workout solutions, court appointed receiver, turn-key development management, construction management and general project problem solving. To explore Cranewoods further, visit: http://cranewoods.com

Jacksonville, FL | Cincinnati, OH.

 PH: 513-257-0749 | 904-758-3434

Bank consultant announces sellout of St Augustine real estate project is a post from: Cranewoods Development LLC

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