Distressed Sales on the up, Colliers Says
The property giant saw a niche last year when there was growing evidence of distressed developments and created the new division Reconstruction & Asset Management Services (R.A.M.S).
Colliers International residential managing director Grant Dearlove is presiding over the Queensland arm of R.A.M.S and says there is more and more of this type of work emerging.
“There are quite a few real estate investment trusts which aren’t in good shape and there has been an increase in defaults on loans, resulting in the companies employing external administrators to work them out of these problems,” he said.
“We provide a specialist service to assist the banks and receivers and asset managers to make sure when the properties are sold they are not severely undervalued,” said Mr Dearlove.
Mr Dearlove said more than 100 industry professionals would attend a Colliers International R.A.M.S seminar on February 17 on the hidden traps for receivers and asset managers.
“Most agencies simply cast these properties onto the market. In today’s climate when there are so many distressed assets, this list and sell method is not going to cut the mustard,” he said.
“Agents have to provide financiers and administrators with more innovative solutions – the service has to be deeper than purely a transactional one.”
“These are properties that are half completed, approvals have lapsed, and often have to be totally reworked to meet the demands of a new market,” he said.
Debt stricken companies and receivers were already employing the services of Colliers International to handle the sale of troubled property portfolios.
“Everyone knows it’s out there but they’re not commenting on it.”
“We’ve streamlined our core offering to combine our national and global network, our knowledge and research to provide a service matrix that creates the best market possible for these forced sales,” he said.
The free R.A.M.S Total Solution seminar is being held at the Tattersalls Club in Brisbane on February 17 from 9am until noon.
The event is invitation only and will feature presentations on complying with legal obligations, planning and development hurdles with workouts, partially completed assets and construction issues, and valuing prospering in changing markets.
