A recent CBRE report shows a shift in corporate real estate executives' outlook, with 38% planning to expand their office space over the next three years—up from just 20% last year.

While we knew that all hard money lenders are not created equal, and some could be good….we knew from our own experience that using hard money could cause a deal to fall apart by making the process less seamless than we needed it to be.What ensued was a month-long nightmare that tested our patience and threatened to derail everything we had worked for.The lender moved at a snail’s pace, bogging us down with endless requests for additional walkthroughs, appraisals, and paperwork.

Now you have (a) shifted persons for a net gain because what would have been 100% tax payer funded is now at least partially private sector financed.

Shifting Buyer Preferences: Quality Over QuantityBuyers in the Greater New Orleans area are becoming more discerning.

Condos, however, are where the biggest shifts are happening.

The main challenge was ensuring all financial and legal aspects were handled swiftly, but our established processes and experienced team made this a seamless transaction.

The returns have been astronomical for awhile but the market has started to shift this last year into different areas and surprisingly Old Town has seen the biggest decline.

The bond market is "pricing in" the policy shift that the Fed finally confirmed in recent weeks.

If you are in a metro area, I would always make sure it works as a LTR as a worst case scenario that regulation shifts.

Looking at it from both ends (as I was an investor before I was a lender), to me an investor friendly lender is one that understands what is important to investors and operates their business to accommodate their needs while at the same time making it a win-win transaction.Examples:Have the rehab draw request be non-cumbersome and as seamless as possibleOffer maximum lending (use of leverage) and minimal down payment to help stretch the borrower's funds, even for lesser or non-experienced borrowers.Have the loan NOT show up on personal credit reports.