Clockwise from top left: Bronx landlord Sam Suzuki; 621 Manida Street in the Bronx; Omni New York partners Mo Vaughn (right) and Eugene Schneur; and 1271 Morris Avenue in the Bronx

From the August issue: For the owners of distressed properties, it’s a harrowing ride to stabilization. Note sale, foreclosure, bankruptcy or recapitalization, there is no easy path from financial trouble to stable footing. And while some savvy investors have seized control of valuable New York City properties, many owners and lenders have lost billions of dollars through distressed real estate sales and restructurings since the financial crisis began. This month The Real Deal examines five deals and how they unfolded.
In the fourth distress deal from the series, Ocelot Capital Group and partner Eldan-Tech tried to unload a portfolio of Bronx rental properties, but were unable even as the housing conditions in the apartments continued to decline. Controversial manager Sam Suzuki took over, but could not close on a purchase. Ultimately baseball slugger Maurice “Mo” Vaughn’s Omni New York acquired first the mortgages and then the deeds, and now is rehabilitating the buildings (note: correction appended). Click here to read the story. [more]

Mo Vaughn

As expected, former Mets baseball player Maurice “Mo” Vaughn’s real estate company Omni New York won the auction this afternoon for 14 troubled properties in the Bronx, a spokesperson for the state court system said. Omni bought $23.8 million in debt for about $5 million last year, and today won the properties in an auction in the Bronx County Courthouse. TRD

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Omni New York, the affordable housing management company led by former New York Mets player Mo Vaughn, has just bought two more low-income housing complexes, according to Crain’s. The two Bedford-Stuyvesant housing centers, the Dr. Betty Shabazz complex and the Medgar Evers Houses, contain a total of approximately 470 units. Omni plans to launch a $10 million renovation effort there, which is slated to be complete by the end of 2011. The company successfully bid on 14 troubled South Bronx buildings at the end of 2009 and made its first purchase in Manhattan — a $5.5 million affordable housing building at 2059-71 Madison Avenue in Harlem — in January this year.

A new city program will put $750 million in the hands of housing agencies to lend to owners who will buy up deteriorating moderate-rent apartment buildings in financial distress and restore them to better conditions for tenants. There are 267 city buildings with 3,564 apartments that are both in poor condition and are close to or already in foreclosure, according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which is heading up the program, announced first in Mayor Bloomberg’s State of the City address Wednesday. Many such properties were purchased by private equity firms during the housing boom. The funding will be provided over five years; the first $150 million will provide capital for experienced owners with good track records to acquire buildings quickly. One such owner will be Mo Vaughn, the former New York Mets player who bought 14 Bronx buildings in a foreclosure auction last month. The remaining $600 million will be provided through New York City Housing Development Corporation bonds and city capital, which will be used to buy and repair the buildings. The city will first focus on the buildings in the worst shape, pushing out current owners with threats of code violations and tax liens. [NYT]

From left: Mo Vaughn, co-founder of Omni New York, Stuyvesant Town, and Rafael Cestero, Department of Housing Preservation and Development commissioner

More rent-stabilized buildings could be facing foreclosure, with some already in default, due to property owners overpaying for properties, WNYC reported. Most notable is Tishman Speyer and Black Rock Realty’s purchase of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Other cases include the sale of Ocelot’s 14 troubled Bronx buildings to Omni New York, headed by former Mets first baseman Mo Vaughn.
“I think what we’ve learned through this crisis is that that pot of gold isn’t there and that owners really need to understand the rent regulation system, they need to understand local markets that they’re buying buildings in and that lenders that are making those loans need to reflect those conditions in their underwriting,” said Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Rafael Cestero.  [WNYC]

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The effort to increase affordable housing in the city is remaining in high gear despite recurring budget cuts elsewhere. By the end of the year, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, led by Commissioner Rafael Cestero, is on track to complete its 100,000th unit of either rehabilitated or new public housing. The agency’s goal is 165,000 affordable apartments by 2014 and is also helping to refinance overleveraged affordable properties. The Dec. 2 sale of 14 South Bronx Buildings to Omni New York, headed by former Mets first baseman Mo Vaughn, is one example of how the city’s involvement has been met with success. Omni replaced Ocelot Capital Group, which had abandoned the buildings and defaulted on the mortgage, and the city, which had already overseen $1.3 million in repairs there, had worked with the $29 million loan holder Fannie Mae to arrange the sale. The city has allotted $750 million to similarly aid overleveraged properties in the future, which in turn will save 20,000 to 30,000 affordable units. [Crain's]

Omni New York, a real estate development company headed by former New York Mets first baseman Maurice “Mo” Vaughn, is the successful bidder of 14 troubled South Bronx buildings owned by Ocelot Capital Group, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, other politicians as well as Fannie Mae announced today. The mortgage debt on the dilapidated Ocelot buildings, which totals $23.8 million, was also purchased for a reduced price by Omni from Fannie Mae and Deutsche Bank through the bidding process. Omni plans to invest up to $1 million in emergency repairs and hopes to become the long-term owner of each property. “This is a big step in the right direction that puts these properties on the path to finding responsible ownership. Omni brings a track record of success and has worked with the city on some of our most challenging and distressed properties,” said Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Rafael Cestero. TRD