Apartment Finance Today Conference 2012

Four Seasons, Las Vegas

It's about time to start thinking about the Apartment Finance Today Conference in Las Vegas. This is the first time we are in this location and we are doing it in style (with a sub $200 room rate!).

You must be an owner, developer or operator to attend but we have great sponsor programs that include a table top in our Sponsor Room, which is also where we have all of the networking functions.

Here is a summary of what you can expect:

Fundamentals are phenomenal. Interest rates are at historic lows. Debt and equity sources want nothing more than to leverage hugely profitable yield opportunities that will come from putting capital to work in the apartment space right now.

But whether it’s new construction, value add, or a permanent loan, your biggest challenge is to get investors and lenders to look at your deal, to get your project in the ground now, to get the chance to ride what promises to be a strong upward cycle.

At this year’s event, held April 2–3, 2012 at the luxurious Four Seasons Las Vegas, you’ll find a dozen interactive sessions, beneficial networking opportunities, first-rate speakers, and must-attend programming designed exclusively for apartment developers and owners. 

Scheduled Speakers (more to come): 

Ron Terwilliger, Keynote

David Abromowitz, Center for American Progress (tentative)

Jerry Ascierto, Apartment Finance Today

Doug Bibby, NMHC

Tom Booher, PNC Real Estate

David Durning, Prudential Mortgage Capital

Mel Gamzon, Senior Housing Investment Advisors

Lee Harris, Cohen Esrey

Guy Johnson, Johnson Capital

Rich Kelly, LumaCorp

Charles Krawitz, Fifth Third Bank

Brent Little, Fountain Residential Partners

Heidi McKibben, Fannie Mae

John McManus, Apartment Finance Today

Trip Stephens, ZOM

Here is a complete outline of the programming: 

MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2012

General Session

1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Vision for 2012: Editorial Advisory Board & Leadership Roundtable

For the past few years, real estate executives and multifamily leaders have predicted that the apartment sector is riding a boom period unparalleled in recent history. For 2012 to live up to the hype, and be ripe with new deals and developments, innovative financing, and revenue-generating opportunities, companies will require a clear strategic vision. This panel of a dozen industry leaders from across the debt and equity, operations, and development segments of the multifamily business will offer their no-holds-barred insights, perspectives, and forecasts for the coming year.

Coffee Break 2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.

General Session

3 p.m. – 4 p.m.  Sound and Fury: Inside the GSE Reform Debate

With more than two-dozen bills still in circulation around housing financing reform, the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is precarious at best. Yet despite the frenzy of activity, the debate has been placed largely on hold until after the 2012 election. In this panel, industry watchers and lobbyists discuss the underlying currents on Capitol Hill and take a hard look at what the current piecemeal legislative attempts for action could mean for the future of the GSEs—and the apartment industry that relies on their financial security.

Keynote Session

4 p.m. – 5 p.m. J. Ronald Terwilliger: My Life as a Developer

Ron Terwilliger, the man likely responsible for developing more units than anyone in the industry’s history, will offer his insights into how the current cycle differs from past cycles, and how you can best position your company to ride the next great upturn. During his 25-year tenure at the helm of Trammell Crow Residential, Terwilliger established the firm as the nation’s most prolific and best-run development firm, providing a model of best practices for the industry to emulate. But he’s also a powerful advocate in the housing industry, having established the ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing, and serving as chairman of Enterprise Community Partners and Habitat for Humanity’s global capital campaign. This keynote presentation will also include his thoughts on the future of housing finance, the government’s role in supporting workforce and affordable housing, and what the future of the government-sponsored enterprises means to your business.

5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Networking Reception

TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Breakfast & Roundtables

Hot Topics Roundtables

Description: Join your colleagues for a moderated, informative breakfast conversation about challenges and opportunities within the various apartment sectors and niches seeing growth in recent years.

•             Affordable Housing

•             Student Housing

•             Seniors Housing

•             Distressed Assets

Keynote Session

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Meet the Money: AFT Takes You Inside the Art & Science of the Loan

The lending environment is a fickle one these days. What’s in favor (and available) one day is out of reach the next. In this interactive, provocative, fast-paced session, the editors of Apartment Finance Today bring borrowers and lenders to the table to offer the inside scoop on who’s lending, on what terms, and for what types of assets. On one side of the table, borrowers, ranging from Class A acquisition experts to value-add owner/operators to niche developers. On the other side, lenders who represent institutional, government, and bank money across the board. This panel of all-stars will offer insights into exactly what it takes to close a deal in the current environment.

10:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.  Coffee Break

General Session

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.  Opening the Gates: Equity Investors Step up Their Game

After retreating to the sidelines and cinching their purse strings through the height of the recession, equity investors re-entered the new development and recapitalization markets in 2011. Now, as the industry navigates another year of uncertain yields and frenzied activity, equity investors have committed to deploying capital before it’s too late. This panel of equity investors will offer their thoughts on where return expectations are headed, how risk levels are evolving, and where to find the right partner for your next deal.

12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch & Roundtables

Join your colleagues for a moderated, informative lunch conversation about dealmaking, financing, and operational trends in a number of local markets around the country. 

•             Northeast Corridor

•             Southeast

•             Texas

•             California

•             Pacific Northwest

•             Midwest

General Session

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. To the Max: How to Push NOI to New Heights

As a stream of residents flees homeownership and flocks to apartment living, the opportunity to maximize revenue and net operating income is huge. Whether through rent maximization, resident retention, innovative renewal strategies, ancillary income and revenue sources, or cost cutting measures, this panel of operational experts will offer advice, tips, and strategies for making every dollar drive value. Guaranteed, you’ll walk away from this high-energy, conversational panel with at least a dozen ideas on how to make every initiative impact the bottom line.

General Session

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Construction Capital‘s Comeback: Beyond the Blueprint

Description: After a 2010 that saw a drastic reduction in starts and a 2011 that saw only a minor uptick in new development activity, 2012 is poised to be the multifamily construction sector’s busiest and most successful year since the start of the Great Recession. But as shovel meets dirt across the country, developers are simultaneously digging for dollars, ready to work closely with banks, the FHA, and other lenders to ensure their construction plans see life beyond the blueprint. This panel of developers and lenders offer their observations on the current state of construction lending—and how to make the development boom last.

3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Coffee Break

General Session

4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. A Renter’s World: Apartment Finance Today’s Annual Economic Outlook

Description: Economists and researchers alike agree that 2015 may mark the peak of an economic recovery that favors renters and apartment fundamentals. But not everyone is convinced that a renter nation is here. This panel brings together some of the housing industry’s brightest economists to discuss the outlook for rent fundamentals and local market metrics in an ever-changing economy. Don’t miss this informative, data-driven panel, which will be sure to offer all-new information on the numbers that matter most to you.

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Networking Reception

Apartment Finance Today Conference: 2009

With so many challenges in front of our economy and the multifamily housing industry, this year's conference will be more valuable than ever for all attendees. Some participating panelists include: Alliance Residential, Chestnut Hill Realty, ConAm, Cohen Esrey, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Herman & Kittle, Home Properties, Laramar Communities, Legacy Partners, Mark-Taylor, Place Properties, Trillium Residential, UDR.

Come to network and engage in the critical dialogue with your peers and the leading financial firms in the industry including: Capmark, Centerline, CWCapital, Deutsche Bank, Johnson Capital, KeyBank, PNC ARCS, Prudential, Red Mortgage Capital and Walker & Dunlop to name a few.

The 2009 Apartment Finance Today Conference, March 30-April 1, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Henry G. Cisneros, former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and executive chairman of CityView, will keynote the Apartment Finance Today Conference, March 30-April 1 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.

The celebrated housing, business, and city government leader will highlight a high-voltage lineup of multifamily owners, developers, and capital partners working out high-level plans and in-the-trenches tactics to weather the economic storm and position apartment properties large and small for a sustainable marathon run to recovery in the future.

In a luncheon keynote presentation, Cisneros plans to address a wide-ranging agenda of issues for survival amid our era's most hostile economies. His remarks will focus on the importance of apartments and rental housing, particularly in the throes of the broader housing and economic crisis.

Here are some other highlighted panels:

Apartment Industry Leadership Roundtable
How are the best and brightest apartment industry leaders coping with the uncertainty and risk of today’s economy? What are they doing to keep their business thriving during the recession and to position themselves for the future? Sit in on one of the most valuable business discussions in our industry. You will walk away with important insights from this one-of-a-kind gathering.

Equity Investment: Negotiating Your Best Deal
With high leverage deals harder to put together, finding good sources of equity is crucial—but also more challenging. This session will help explain your options, and look closely at the most active sources and their investment interests and deal terms. Plus, specific take-away tips on key deal points and specific examples of recently closed deals.

Buying Smart: Successful Underwriting in the Age of Turbulence
Buying opportunities are out there, if you know where to look and how to assess the potential for income growth. Learn the latest underwriting and financing techniques from acquisition, finance
and investment executives, to guide you in smartly assessing and acquiring apartment projects in today’s environment.

For a complete program, visit www.aptfinanceconf.com

Glossary of Lending Terms

Here is a list of some "basic" lending terms from the AFT Conference. Don't be afraid to ask questions that may seem basic, chances are that at least 50% of the folks in the room have the same one.

Capital Markets 101, Apartment Finance Today Conference, April 8, 2008

All-in Rate: The interest rate charged to borrowers on a given loan. The all-in rate includes both the benchmark rate used to set the loan, such as the 10-year Treasury rate, and the spread charged by the lender. So, a 10-year Treasury rate of 3.5 percent plus a spread of 200 basis points (or 2 percent) would equal an all-in rate of 5.5 percent.

Amortization: The way that debt is reduced by installments over a given period of time. Amortization is the calculation of equal monthly payments that pay off the debt and interest charged on a loan. It is expressed in years: a loan with a 30-year amortization would have 360 payments.

Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR): DSCR is an underwriting formula that measures whether an income-producing property can sustain its debt based on cash flow. The calculation is Net Operating Income/Total Debt Service. For lenders, the higher the DSCR, the less risk it is taking on the loan. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae lenders typically underwrite to a 1.20 DSCR, meaning that for every dollar spent on debt payments, the property generates $1.20.

Government-sponsored Enterprises (GSEs): GSEs are financial institutions that were created by the U.S. Congress to provide liquidity in a given market segment. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks are GSEs. While these institutions have a public charter, they are privately owned.

Loan to Value (LTV): An underwriting calculation that measures the amount of a loan against the property’s appraised value. A borrower seeking a $1 million loan for a property worth $2 million will have an LTV of 50 percent, for instance.

Mezzanine Financing: A form of capital that fills the gap between a first mortgage and equity to achieve 100 percent financing on a deal. Mezzanine financing can be structured to emphasize debt or equity characteristics—it can work like a standard loan or allow the mezzanine provider to share in profits.

Non-Recourse Debt: A type of debt wherein the borrower does not have personal liability for the loan. Non-recourse debt is secured by collateral, usually in the form of property. If the borrower defaults, the lender can seize the collateral, but can’t seek further compensation, regardless of whether that collateral covers the full value of the defaulted amount.

Senior Debt: A form of debt that has priority over other types of debt in a given deal. If a borrower defaults, the senior debt must be repaid before other creditors receive payment.

Spread: The amount charged by a lender for issuing a loan. The spread is one component of the all-in interest rate. The spread is expressed in basis points: 100 basis points equals 1 percent.

Subordinate Debt: A form of debt that ranks below other loans in a given deal. If a borrower defaults, subordinate debt providers would get paid only after the senior debt is paid off in full.

Maximize NOI

Day 2 of the Apartment Finance Today Conference covered some interesting NOI Building ideas. Since deal velocity has slowed considerably it's time to get back to basics and maximize efficiencies. Lee Harris (Cohen-Esrey), Richard Kelly (LumaCorp), Dave Richitelli (ista North America) and Jeff Kelly (Tucson Realty & Trust) spent some time digging into the multitude of ideas out there that WILL increase NOI if we take the time to get educated.

Some of the topics:

• Credit Cards - reduce bad debt and attract renters
• Revenue Management - manage expirations and realize quick payback
• Green ideas that save money - Lighting, monitoring gas boilers, irrigation efficiencies and submetering
• Trash removal, Low Cost Physical Improvements and Surety Bonds

Focusing on customer service needs to be a core competency of apartment operators. Those with a sound strategy will whether any storm. Especially those caused by speculators who were in the business for a quick hit. This customer service theme was also emphasized in the Keynote by Dr. Tony Downs from the Brookings Institution.

The discussion that took place was lively and participants were enthusiastic about making investments in products and services that offered immediate ROI.

Multifamily looks for long ideas

Day one of the Apartment Finance Today Conference exceeded expectations for me. I anticipated a mixed-bag of murky, market forecasts but overall I found the group to be extremely optimistic and aggressively in search of market opportunities.

AFT attendees feel that we are not out of the woods on the national economy, and don't have confidence in our government's ability to help the matter, but I certainly got the sense that owners and developers have a confident mindset. "Access to capital is challenging, cap rates remain low and more product is on the market now, but we could have big positions in office, industrial or retail right now and be far worse off."

"NOI is slowing but still growing in many markets, GSEs (Fannie and Freddie) are supporting the market's capital needs in a big way, foreign and institutional money has not been frightened off and even 'well-documented' horror stories by the mainstream media, like Phoenix, still have strong fundamentals and growth upside for savvy long term investors."

Make no mistake, not all was cheerful and rosy. Pressing issues like the lack of tax credit investment, job growth and the bulge of multifamily CMBS refinancing needing attention in the next few years were touched on as significant challenges that can create an even more hostile environment for business.

Obviously the folks who attend industry conferences and share best practices with peers are doing the necessary homework to be successful...so maybe I should expect this type of positive inspiration here. Nevertheless it was exciting to watch this very open and engaging dialogue take place. More tomorrow...

Apartment Finance Today Conference

We are closing in on the Apartment Finance Today Conference. The dates are April 7-9, 2008 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.

AFTC is relatively new to the conference scene but offers tremendous value to vendors who are looking to connect with customers and meet new prospects. Here are some of the highlights:

• 3 days of solid programming beginning with the Apartment Industry Leadership Roundtable and concluding with programs on Green Building, CMBS Market and Student Housing.
• The "AFT Forecast for Rental Demand."
  
• Daily networking opportunities on an intimate exhibit floor that is limited to only 30 booths.
• In 2007 we had more than 300 attendees. A majority of these attendees owned more than 2500 units and on average, each planned to develop more than 371 and acquire more than 500 units in the coming year.
  

So don't let the name fool you. The Apartment Finance Today Conference is much more than finance and a fancy hotel.

A Sample List of Participating Vendors in 07/08:
PNC ARCS, Assurant Specialty Property, Centerline, GreenPark Financial, Stewart Title, Verizon Enhanced Communities, Wachovia, Arbor Commercial Mortgage, Saflok, Sage Water, Reznick Group, Sperry Van Ness, Nichiha, Empire Construction, Commercial Defeasance, CW Capital, Commercial Insurance, Greystone, PASSCO, Red Capital, First Advantage SafeRent, Pierce Eislen and Aries Capital.

Call us for a list of 2007 attendees.