From the San Francisco Business Times, May 9:
Legendary investor Warren Buffett has little sympathy for owners of commercial real estate who are now losing their properties.
“They should lose money. If people borrowed on commercial real estate and now the loans aren’t getting extended … too bad. That’s part of borrowing on 100% margin, which is what people were doing,” Buffett told those attending Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting Saturday. “You’ve gotta have the penalties hit the people who caused the problems … if you’re going to change how people are going to behave in the future.”....
....MUCH MORE
Can you imagine trying to roll a loan or a lease right now? You are looking at interest rates that are double or triple your old rate while your occupancy is down 20% to—in the case of San Francisco—over 30%.
