Distressed property investor dishes on foreclose-to-own strategy

David Lynd, whose Easton Lynd just picked up $62 million in distressed notes on industrial and retail properties in Florida, Washington, D.C., New York and five other states, opened up to GlobeSt.com about his company’s distressed investment strategy this week. That strategy, he said, is simply to wrest control of the asset through foreclosure. And the company has another $100 million that it plans to invest in these types of deals in the coming months. “Once we own it we will fix any physical or operational problems and then decide if we should sell or hold,” he said. “We feel we are at the low point in the cycle and that there are attractive properties out there that simply can’t refinance their debt position.” The potential downside, he noted, is the cost of litigating. “The main reason you are getting these notes at basically 50 percent of the unpaid principle balance is because you are willing to accept this risk and deal with it.” [GlobeSt]