Real Estate Partner Discusses New Loan Deal Structures

This article, about new loan deal structures for companies that rent single-family homes, quotes real estate partner M.J. Pritchett.

"I think there's a variety of different ways to do these loans, and it's more like choosing from a menu, and it depends more on the personal preference of the lender and of the borrower, which combination of entrees and sides they end up with," Pritchett said.

He also stated that the structure of these deals appears to be cobbled together from several different elements, to account for the fact that the collateral -- the company's portfolio -- is made up of houses and mortgages. The loan's structure appears designed to be broad enough to accommodate both, he said.

"I'm not being critical of the structure. But…because it has both loans and properties in it, they're using tools from a lot of different areas to put together a particular kind of Mr. Potato Head."

The result, he added, is a particular combination of tools that work for the specific borrower and lender -- rather than the perfect structure, which may not exist.

"Some of its just tradition. People are used to using the tools that they're using, and they're using them in a new way, in a new asset class."​