Dozens of properties managed by Wiener’s Pinnacle Group were put into Chapter 11 last week, saddled with roughly US$564mil in mortgage debt. — Bloomberg
NEW YORK: A portfolio of rent-stabilised New York City (NYC) apartments owned by Joel Wiener was pushed into bankruptcy by “sky-rocketed” interest rates and changes to state housing law that restricted the property owners’ ability to increase rent on tenants, according to court papers.
Dozens of properties managed by Wiener’s Pinnacle Group were put into Chapter 11 last week, saddled with roughly US$564mil in mortgage debt and facing foreclosure actions from its primary lender, Flagstar Bank.
The apartments also have outstanding amounts on Israeli-issued bonds, pushing the total debt on the properties to roughly US$1bil, according to bankruptcy papers filed Tuesday.
Interest rate hikes in 2022 significantly increased the cost of the mortgage debt, to the point that rental income was no longer enough to cover debt service and operating expenses, Ephraim Diamond, the properties’ chief restructuring officer said in a court filing.
Rates on a large portion of the Pinnacle properties’ mortgage debt has “sky rocketed” since 2022, from between 3% to 4% to as high as 7.5% and 10.25%, in certain circumstances, Diamond said.
The cost to service the debt was about US$26mil in 2023, including US$20mil interest.
Last year, that amount jumped to US$36mil, including US$25mil in interest, and is projected to increase again in 2025, he said. — Bloomberg
