Australian Open - Celebration of Melbourne Tennis

Melbourne knows how to celebrate and play a game.

In January, Melbourne is filled with tennis fans around the world to watch this premier tennis event, the Australian Open. This is the first championship of the global tennis Grand Slam circuit of the year.

The big names of international tennis love coming to Melbourne. They love Melbourne's sporting spirit and support, and most of the time the weather.

This annual Melbourne tennis event attracts large crowds and is surrounded by a party atmosphere, with the major games being broadcast on a large screen at Federation Square, Melbourne's public place.

The Australian Open is one of Melbourne's great sporting events - attendance is over 550,000 and hotels tend to get booked out during this time. Melbourne was chosen over the other Australian cities for its ability to draw great crowds and muster support and enthusiasm for this sport.

Melbourne tennis follows the good old English tradition of being played in summer. While most days are pleasant and sunny in the mid twenties, Melbourne also has some extremely hot days in January with winds from the desert that make you feel you are in a giant blow dryer. This means that some of the games are played in 35-45 degree heat.

With on court temperatures at times around 50 degrees (yes Celsius), the Australian Open can be taxing on the players and quiet a few have suffered the symptoms of heat exhaustion.

To handle this problem, tennis Australia introduced an Extreme Heat Policy: Once the thermometer hits 35 degrees - while matches in progress must be completed - the roof over the Rod Laver and the Vodafone Arenas - the main courts - get closed and no matches are commenced on outside courts.

This has been so popular that Wimbledon is now introducing a removable roof - to handle the rainy weather.

The Australian Open, then called the Australasian Championships, had followed Wimbledon in the early 1900s to embraced the new sport of lawn tennis. From there it has grown into one of the most popular world tennis events.

In this year's Australian Open 2008, Roger Federer, Swiss, is seeking to defend his title, which would make him one of three men who have won the Australian Open four times. The others are Jack Crawford, Australian, who played in the 1930s, and Andre Agassi, US, who won title in the 1990s and 2000s.

For the women, Serena Williams, US, is attempting the same. She would join the other tennis champions who have achieved a quadruple win, namely Steffi Graf, German, and Monica Seles, Yugoslavia & US.

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Brigitte Seum provides insider information about Melbourne. She is a Melburnian by choice and is building an information rich Melbourne resource site. Find out more about Melbourne Sport enthusiasm here.

Hotel Loans - The Guidelines Are Changing

It's March 2008 and I'm currently working on a rate and term refinance, $3.8 million of an owner occupied Wingate Hotel in the Midwest. The owner boasts an 82% occupancy for 07, $2,000,000 of gross income, property was built in 02 for a cost of $5.3 million so we're looking at a loan to value of approximately 63-67% depending on the appraisal works out. No issues on the transaction like bad credit, liens, judgments - nothing. Slam dunk transaction, right? Find the best lender with the best terms, rate and call it a day.

Not so, of the top ten banks in this arena, rather than the enthusiastic expected response of the bank representative snoozing me for the package, I'm getting more of the "we don't want to create any more enemies right now" and the "we just really want to wait and see how the issue on Wall Street shake out before we start reviewing packages and quoting rates." Definitely a disappointing reality check to say the least.

The borrower on this particular transaction was quoted 6.5% on a nonrecourse, 5 year fixed, 10 year term, 25 year amortization loan from a major national hotel lender 3 weeks ago - that lender/deal has been taken off the table. The 7.5% -7.25% that I have been able to find has not been received well as the borrowers expectations where set in the mid 6's%.

In general, on a cash out basis, borrowers can now expect a max 65% if not more like 55% that's currently market. Rate and term refinances now need a good story and borrowers can expect to still get a loan closed at 70% but will get market rates/terms at 60-65%. DCR's that we could get away with at 1.3 now have been changed to a real 1.4.

Historically Hotel Loans come in and out of favor with lenders more so than with any other building type. There has been a tremendous amount of volatility in the market over the years and the banks seem to have already pulled the plug, for the most part.

More startling is that we have talked to many experts in this arena, on a daily basis, and everyone seems to be in a state of shock and confusion. Normally it's the wait 6 months and we should be back to normal. Currently it's more the attitude of "we don't know".

In general, if a hotel owner thinks that they may need to refinance and or purchase a new hotel, it may be wise to get started immediately as it may be a few years before we get back to rates/terms that we are still at today.

Jeff Rauth is President of Commercial Finance Advisors, Inc out of Birmingham, Michigan. He specializes in Commercial Real Estate Loans between $400,000 - $5,000,000. Offers unique loan programs such as Commercial Second Mortgages, Commercial 30 Year Fixed and 90% non SBA financing, Commercial Equity Lines. 248 885-8797 or at Hotel Loans or Fixed Rate SBA 7a Loans, Commercial Mortgage Brokers.