How the new game is played:

People much richer and smarter than myself are gaming the commercial real estate system.


Here is an article from the NY Times.


So Andrew Farkas (who founded Insignia before selling to CBRE) buys a special servicer for $100 million, plus assuming $180 in debt. In return, he gets to service $110 Billion of real estate debt, not only racking up huge fees for disposing of these assets, but also able to decide who gets what and for how much.


Warren Buffet and and Leucadia National Corportation bought Capmark Financial Group, looking to do the same thing. The new company is called Berkadia and services $236 Billion.

Behold, the Robber Barons of this new distressed age!