Lending veteran Christopher Haynes, formerly of Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, has opened Broadacre Financial Corp., a boutique commercial real estate advisory firm specializing in debt and equity financing and restructuring. Based in New York City, the firm will provide mortgage brokerage, advisory services and restructuring assistance to owners of self-storage and other real estate types.
Haynes serves as president for Broadacre. His background includes a 20-year career in real estate lending at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, where he was an integral part of the Merrill Lynch commercial real estate conduit since its founding in 1994. He was actively involved in originating, underwriting or closing more than $20 billion in loans in more than 60 commercial mortgage-backed securities pools. He was one of only three Merrill Lynch CMBS employees retained by Bank of America after the merger in 2008.
Haynes was a member of the banks credit committee and managed teams of originators, underwriters and closers for a specialized lending platform within the bank. He has experience in first mortgage debt, mezzanine loans, bridge loans, earnouts, construction loans, equity and whole loan sales in all property types including self-storage, retail, hospitality, office, industrial/warehouse, multi-family, manufactured-housing communities, underlying co-op mortgages and owner-occupied properties. His clients range from small owners to private and public real estate investment trusts and Forbes 400 members.
When the market was volatile in 2008 and 2009, a significant number of my banking colleagues changed jobs. I realized that I had this vast network of former co-workers who were now at all the major Wall Street firms, local banks, life companies, private equity firms, servicers, B-piece buyers and hedge funds," Haynes said. "Meanwhile, my clients were calling me for help with problematic loans, and I found I could connect them with former colleagues in just about any area of the industry.
Haynes said his experience and knowledge will help streamline the lending process for bankers and borrowers. I know the banks underwriting standards, the rating agency guidelines, and the pitfalls in the process ... As a former banking insider, I know all the strategies banks use. I know what deal points are negotiable, where you can save basis points, what fees can be waived, and what concessions can be given. I know how to reduce a borrowers costs.
Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Chris was a loan officer at Home Savings of America, where he managed workouts of problem commercial real estate loans. He began his lending career as an underwriter at White Horse Mortgage Corp.
Chris has a bachelor's degree in economics from Fairfield University and a diploma in real estate with a concentration in investment analysis from New York University. He has been a featured speaker at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and the Urban Land Institute. He currently holds the Series 7 and 63 securities licenses and is a licensed real estate broker in the state of New York.
In the last three months, Ive seen the market opening up significantly. With rates at historic lows and higher leverage available at the right price, the trends looks very positive," Haynes said.
