'Million dollar tennis game' launches Kennedy Funding deal.

Even tennis superstars rarely get a chance to make $1 million from one tennis game. But that's what happened when Joseph Wolfer, president and founder of Kennedy Funding, Inc., a private lending firm based in Hackensack, NJ, met with a local CPA for a friendly game of tennis on a recent Thursday morning. By the end of the game, a deal that would yield a $1 million loan and rescue the CPA's client from default on an office building in Northvale, NJ was launched - and it closed in just four days!

Matt Mulhearn, president of Quantum Conveyer Systems, Inc., an innovative conveyor systems development firm, faced foreclosures on a 97,000 square-foot industrial facility in Northvale. Mulhearn's two firms, Quantum and Modern Cosmetics, occupied two-thirds of the building and two tenants leased the remaining space. Mulhearn had put down $2 million on the building, but still owed $450,000. Faced with unexpected tax liabilities from the IRS and months of delays on a loan application from PNC Bank, Mulhearn felt he had no place left to turn. He was unable to meet the stringent requirements and debt ratio of PNC Bank, and there was no time to negotiate with another bank, with its red tape and loan committees.

When Mulhearn's CPA told Wolfer of his client's plight at the tennis game, Wolfer immediately put his team of financial specialists at Kennedy Funding into action. That same day, Wolfer went to Northvale to evaluate the property. From Thursday through the weekend, Kennedy's attorneys and accountants completed the due diligence and put the loan transaction together. On Tuesday morning, the deal closed, barely four days from the initial request.

"We were extremely impressed with Mulhearn's business acumen, particularly with his firm Quantum Conveyer Systems," said Michael Bahiri, Kennedy vice president and a former major in the Israeli Air Force. "The technology integrated into Quantum is cutting edge and offers features other conveyor systems will not have for years."

Quantum provides a full range of pre-engineered conveyor components in an integrated, flexible system that automates the packaging, sorting and transportation of material handling. It offers a highly reliable system with a modular design that incorporates built-in communication and control devices, has low noise levels, and is safe and easy to operate.

The lightning speed at which Kennedy Funding processed the loan and completed the transaction may seem atypical in a banking world known for cautious loan officers, regulatory red tape and layers of bureaucracy. But for Kennedy, this was business as usual. The ability to provide fast funding in quick response to commercial loan requests has earned the company a unique national reputation as one of the largest direct private lenders in the country. Kennedy excels at providing creative financing to companies who can not secure commercial mortgage financing from traditional sources.

"We found Kennedy Funding to be very thorough, professional, and very, very responsive," said Mulhearn. "After one meeting with me, they saw the building and in a matter of days we closed the deal. Now that I've seen them in action, I'd want to be an investor in one of their deals."

Kennedy specializes in real estate and commercial property funding, including bank workouts, foreclosures, bankruptcies (including D.I.P. financing) and many other types of creative funding. Early on the firm realized that in today's competitive business climate, timing is everything. Particularly in real estate, the ability of a developer to obtain fast funding can make the difference between success and failure and avert a missed business opportunity.

Aside from loans that need to be processed in just a few days, funding is usually available within two weeks, company officials say. Businessmen and developers have found that a quick bridge loan from Kennedy enables them to continue construction without worrying about the "clock ticking" while awaiting traditional bank financing.

Kennedy's ability to make funding available so quickly has enabled it to grow from a small firm with bank liens of credit totaling $4 million to a company that can close a multi-million loan in a few days. Loans area available from a minimum of $500,000 up to $25 million and are secured by real estate based upon a 50 percent loan-to-value ratio. Brokers are protected and points are deducted from the proceeds at the loan closing.

"We're not for everyone," said Henry Haskell, Kennedy vice president and managing partner. "We're corporate lenders providing a highly specialized service to commercial borrowers. While our clients incur higher fees and interest than a bank, we provide moneys in a matter of days, not months. We may be more expensive than a bank, but we're certainly less expensive than a partner."

Putting together deals of the magnitude routinely handled by Kennedy and moving the transactions at lightning speed involves a considerable outlay of financial resources by Kennedy, and entails a high degree of risk.

Such risk can prove costly, according to Kennedy associate Matthew Cole: "We put together a loan for a land deal where the owner was in financial trouble to the degree that his whole inheritance was on the line. He needed $700,000, but convinced me to get him $900,000. At the closing, his attorney offered to lend him the money in a separate deal. We lost the loan and were unable to fully recover the costs for all the time and legal and professional services that went into it."

Kennedy's success has earned the company a national reputation for its financial expertise and has won it a loyal following from a growing pool of investors and lenders. Wolfer credits the company's growth to its stringent loan-to-value ratios, creative methodologies and its hands-on approach, with principals doing the work that most lending institutions farm out. The company has established its specialized niche by offering fast response and financial services geared to the realities of the modern marketplace and customized to the needs of its clients.