Alternative Real Estate Financing Structures: Sale-Leasebacks, Seller Financing, Ground Leases, Crowdfunding

With rising interest rates, higher mortgage costs, and a shrinking pool of commercial real estate lenders, property owners, investors, and developers are facing a myriad of financing challenges. In order to keep capital flowing into commercial real estate deals and projects, investors and developers are considering alternative funding sources, including sale-leasebacks, seller financing, ground leases, and a rather new alternative--crowdfunding.

These alternatives to traditional financing might allow projects to begin while capital markets are slow. Each of the alternatives present a number of advantages, but also potential legal and financial risks, for those who use them. Counsel must carefully assess the benefits and risks associated with each alternative financing structure to properly advise their clients.

Listen as our panel of experienced real estate finance attorneys examines the opportunities and downsides of common alternative real estate financing structures. The panel will outline strategies for protecting the interests of the buyer or seller when negotiating and documenting the real estate deal.

1. Current market trends
2. Alternative real estate financing: benefits and risks
   1. Sale-leaseback transactions
   2. Seller financing
   3. Ground leases
   4. Crowdfunding
   5. Other options
3. Best practices for negotiating and documenting the deal

The panel will review these and other key questions:

• What are the current market conditions necessitating alternative forms of financing?
• What strategies are being used to facilitate real estate deals in the absence of traditional financing?
• What are the most common deal terms buyers and sellers are negotiating and the benefits and risks of each?
• What are best practices for counsel on both sides of the deal when negotiating terms?