Maverick files to foreclose on $25M Croman Real Estate debt

Maverick Real Estate Partners, which has been the most active note buyer in the city over the past year, filed to foreclose on a loan with an original principal of $25 million given to Croman Real Estate in 2016, and secured by four buildings at 208-214 East 25th Street in Kips Bay in Manhattan. The borrower, is controlled by Steven Croman, a controversial landlord who owns a large multifamily portfolio and served eight months in jail for mortgage and tax fraud.

BankUnited sold the loans to Maverick Real Estate Partners, through its 25th Street Multifamily LLC on August 12, 2021, according to the court papers. BankUnited made the $25 million loan to Croman Real Estate on March 30, 2016. Court filings are the positions of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete. Croman has not yet filed response papers.

Maverick has bought at least $184 million in loans over the past year in 24 transactions that PincusCo has tracked, but has filed only a handful of pre-foreclosure filings. PincusCo has identified only four such filings in the past year. But it has ramped up activity over the past 60 days. Maverick has filed at least three other foreclosure actions since June 30, totaling $56 million. Those pre-foreclosure filings include a $39 million loan given to All Year Management, a commercial loan for $3 million on a rental building and a condo unit at 432 Park Avenue.

According to PincusCo data, Croman refinanced $225 million in debt in 14 transactions between September 2019 and May 2020, but has not recorded any refinanced loans since then, in more than a year.

Pre-foreclosure lawsuit LINK