Tuesday, November 19, 1996
Business Page: 4B
By John Rebchook Rocky Mountain News Real Estate Editor

Denver specialty-railroad baron Tom Rader was recently hit with unwanted publicity when reports showed that his luxury Marlboro passenger train was running behind schedule.

But it was full steam ahead in the late 1980s when Rader needed a quick $500,000 loan to keep Rader Railcar Inc. chugging along.

The company, which designs and builds deluxe rail cars, needed the money but not the red tape and headache of explaining his business to a bank.

So he went to Denver private lender Robert J. Amter.

Amter, president of Montegra Capital Resources Ltd. (formerly Equity Mortgage Investors), makes loans based on collateral. Although he gets credit reports, Amter gives them little weight and does not require exhaustive financial reports.

Because he makes the short-term loans of $250,000 to $3 million from his own funds and from those of a handful of well-heeled financial and cable TV executives (who wish to remain anonymous), he isn’t bogged down by government regulations that banks face.

“They can expect to make in the neighborhood of 13% on their money, with very little risk,” said Amter, who makes from $10 million to $15 million a year in loans.

The low-key Amter says he’s never lost money on a loan and has had to go after the underlying real estate on only a few occasions. Amter makes loans quickly, but in return charges three or four percentage points more than a bank would charge. Origination fees range from 2% to 4% of loan amount, also more than what banks typically charge. And the borrower almost always must sign a personal guaranty.

The loans, with interest-only payments, must be structured as business loans or as short-term residential acquisitions.

Most of Montegra’s loans are backed by real estate.

Unlike a bank, the most Montegra will lend is 60% of the value of the real estate. That way, if the borrower defaults, Amter doesn’t have to worry about the real estate’s not covering the loan.

Using real estate collateral and being conservative are safer than depending on credit reports and income statements, he says. “I feel sorry for banks,” he said. “How do they know their borrower won’t lose his job the week after they approve a loan?”

But Amter is no loan shark.

“There are people in this business known as ‘hard money lenders,’ who might charge 18% or 19% or more, he said. “Frequently, they’re looking to take advantage of distressed situations and want to acquire the property through foreclosure at less than it’s fair market value. We’re just the opposite. The last thing we want to do is own property.”

Caption: Robert Amter is pictured at a medical center for which his company made a loan despite the owner’s previous bankruptcy. By Ellen Jaskol / Rocky Mountain News. FILE: AMTER, ROBERT

Note: Eye Surgery Center of Colorado P.C. is a tenant in a building that has been the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding. A photo and caption on page 4B Tuesday gave the incorrect impression that the center itself had at one time filed bankruptcy.

All content herein is © 1996 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS and may not be republished without permission.