ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.,
Feb. 23, 2015
/PRNewswire/ --Kennedy Funding Financial, LLC, one of the world's
largest private lenders, has suspended all lending in the U.S. Virgin
Islands, encompassing St. Croix and St. Thomas, citing bureaucratic
problems in the territory's foreclosure process.
"Due to the incredible delays in the foreclosure process, we
have decided to join many other U.S.-based lenders in this action," said
Kevin Wolfer, the firm's CEO, citing the territory's governmental
process and courts. "These delays are preventing lenders from recouping
their investment dollars in the islands.
"While the principals of our firm enjoy vacationing in St.
Thomas and the other islands, and have found the local people incredibly
hospitable, the exorbitant delays in completing a foreclosure process
and the inability to even protect and preserve a property when it is
being pillaged, we and other lenders have unfortunately been forced to
make this difficult decision," said Wolfer. "Because of the ongoing
negative impact on the islands' financial and real estate markets, it is
incumbent upon local officials to correct these problems."
Kennedy Funding will continue to lend throughout the U.S. and
internationally, however. "We will continue to fund loans throughout
the Caribbean region—we have recently closed loans in the Bahamas and
the Dominican Republic, in fact," said Wolfer. "We are actively pursuing
opportunities and hope to one day resume lending in the U.S. Virgin
Islands."
Kennedy Funding Financial, LLC, one of the largest direct
private lenders in the country, specializes in bridge loans for
commercial property and land acquisition, development, workouts,
bankruptcies, and foreclosures. The principals of the company have
closed over $2.5 billion in loans to date. The firm's creative financing
expertise enables the closing of equity-based loans of up to a 70%
loan-to-value ratio, from $1 million to more than $50 million, in as
little as five days. Kennedy Funding Financial, LLC continues to
actively seek new funding opportunities throughout the world.